I am participating in a 100 Book Reading Challenge for 2013 hosted by Book Chick City! Am I crazy? Do I really think I can read 100 books in a year when I have a job and a toddler at home? Only time will tell if this can be accomplished! If you would like to participate in this challenge please click here to be directed to Book Chick City's blog. Happy reading!
Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship
Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on
Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the
universe to experience.
But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had
been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with
mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets
than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all?
Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're
going to stay, they'll have to fight.
Amy and Elder must race to discover
who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their
struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward
to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey
yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have
sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for
nothing.
The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever
could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the
agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer
deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.
Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods,
Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her
. . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the
best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott,
the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the
first place.
As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers
that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not
the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows
she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and
betrayal.
In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate
once and for all.
Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Looking for Alaska,
Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author, calls Elizabeth
LaBan’sThe Tragedy Paper“a beguiling and beautifully written
tale of first love and heartbreak.”
It follows the story of Tim Macbeth,
a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving
School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the
last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year
unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds
himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of
Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she
can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa
begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper,
Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least
forgiving teacher.
Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and
Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The
Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people
will go to keep their secrets.
It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.
Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last
saw him.
Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been
longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all
of them. At least, at fi rst. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to
former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control.
With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace
and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?
Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder,
Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her
spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and
sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure—and a love story as perilous
as it is unforgettable.
Synopsis:In this gripping exploration of a futuristic afterlife, a teen discovers that death is just the beginning. Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward
has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world
and the next. Along with her fellow drones, Felicia passes the endless hours
reliving memories of her time on Earth and mourning what she’s lost—family,
friends, and Neil, the boy she loved.
Then a girl in a neighboring chamber is found dead, and nobody but Felicia
recalls that she existed in the first place. When Julian—a dangerously charming
guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, Felicia learns the
truth: If she joins the rebellion to overthrow the Morati, the angel guardians
of Level 2, she can be with Neil again.
Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself at the center of an
age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to
haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just
her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only
Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which
they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago,
when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now
Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked
with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of
her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a
useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a
constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now
that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary
between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must
never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing
essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive
itself might crumble and fall.
Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to
save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity—a debt
that should've been hers. Now she is living a borrowed life, and she doesn't
know what to do with the guilt. And every night, Jack appears in her dreams,
lost and confused and wasting away. No matter how she tries to reach for his
hand, she can never find it.
Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to
make her his queen—and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has
been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to help in the only way he
can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.
Nikki and Cole, along with Cole's bandmate Max, descend into the Everneath,
only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they'd
anticipated—and more deadly. From a Lake of Blood and Guilt to Sirens' alluring
tricks to insurmountable walls of rock and flame, the trio is given every reason
to turn back and give up. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack—even if
it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.
In this breathtaking sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the
bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we'll go to for the ones we love.
Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since
June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day
is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought
they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor.
Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to
bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become
pawns in the most terrifying of political games?
Darksouls Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after
Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana
responsible for the darksouls—and the newsouls who may be born in their place.
Shadows Many are afraid of Ana's presence, a constant reminder of
unstoppable changes. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people
turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who
cannot stand up for themselves.
Love Ana was told that nosouls can't love. But newsouls? More than
anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart,
but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to
overcome a lifetime of rejection.
In this compelling and spirited debut novel, 16-year-old Rayna Evans has spent
the last three years in a mental institution for seeing angels—intent on
remaining free, she ignores signs that she may be slipping into a world she has
tried to climb out of. When her hallucinations begin showing up at school, can
she keep her sanity and prevent students from dying at the hands of angels she
cannot admit to seeing? Psychiatry, fantasy, and realism come together here in a
story of a young girl struggling with identity, secrets, and confronting her
greatest fears.
For New Releases from January 1-8, 2013 please click here.
2013 is going to be an epic year of reading excellent new releases for both existing series and new ones AND watching some of our favorite books make it to the big screen. Below you will find a list of what I am most excited to read or watch this year.
Books
Adult
1.
Title: Written In Red: A Novel of the Others
Author: Anne Bishop
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: New American Library
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $18.81 CDN
Synopsis:
As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut-a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg's Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard-a business district operated by the Others.
Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she's keeping a secret, and second, she doesn't smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she's wanted by the government, he'll have to decide if she's worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Note: Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy are among the best books I have ever read. The author creates new worlds with just vivid description that when I am reading them I desperatly want to be a part of that world.
2.
Title: Ever After
Author: Kim Harrison
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover
Cost: January 22, 2013
Synopsis:
The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It''s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.
Of course, there''s also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after-the soul-eater Ku''Sox Sha-Ku''ru-has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn''t give herself up, they will die.
Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack-a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul-to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.
3.
Title: Dead Ever After
Author: Charlaine Harris
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $19.47 CDN
Synopsis:
There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie-and could destroy her heart....
Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte's. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.
Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.
But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she'll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…
Note: WHAT!!!!! This is the last Sookie Book? Not possible I didn't see this coming :( Now I am both excited and aprehensive.
Books
Young Adult
4.
Title: Divergent # 3
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: Unknown (Good Reads suggested September 26, 2013)
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover (I am assuming)
Cost: Unknown
Synopsis: None
5.
Title: Shades of Earth (Across The Universe # 3)
Author: Beth Revis
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: HArdcover
Cost: $15.20 CDN
Synopsis:
Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They''re ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.
But this new Earth isn''t the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed''s former passengers aren''t alone on this planet. And if they''re going to stay, they''ll have to fight.
Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.
6.
Title: Spellcaster
Author: Claudia Gray
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Harpercollins
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.19 CDN
"Descended from witches, high school senior Nadia can tell as soon as her family moves to Captive's Sound that the town is under a dark and powerful spell. Then she meets Mateo, the teenage local whose cursed dreams predict the future, and they must work together to prevent an impending disaster that threatens the entire town"
7.
Title: The Rising
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: April 9, 2013
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.19 CDN
Synopsis:
Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by two powerful Cabals, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, they can''t simply go to the authorities for help. All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable to the Cabals, and why their supernatural powers are getting more out of control. Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her, but she'll have to face them if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because she can't keep running forever.
With all the twists, thrills, and romance that have made Kelley Armstrong an international bestseller--plus the surprising return of some favourite characters--The Rising will keep you under its spell long after the last page is turned.
8.
Title: Gameboard of the Gods
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Adult (So maybe not a YA novel?)
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $17.96 CDN
Synopsis:
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March
lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups
and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen
comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised
in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and
terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.
When Justin
and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders,
they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger.
As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than
they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in
which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
Gameboard of the
Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have
all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series
such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological
intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.
9.
Title: The Gates of Paradise: A Bluebloods Novel
Author: Melissa De La Cruiz
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $13.76 CDN
Synopsis:
Schuyler Van Alen is running out of time. The Dark Prince of Hell is storming the Gates of Paradise, intent on winning the heavenly throne for good. This time he has his greatest angels by his side, Abbadon and Azrael--Jack and Mimi Force, as they are known in the Coven.
Or so he thinks. Even as Lucifer assigns Jack and Mimi the tasks of killing their true loves, the Force twins secretly vow to defeat the Dark Prince once and for all. But how far will Mimi and Jack go to conceal their real loyalties?
Meanwhile, former vampire Bliss Llewellyn has joined forces with Lawson, the greatest wolf of the underworld, to free his people from their imprisonment in Hell. As they struggle against impossible odds, an ancient message, woven into the very fabric of time, reveals just how much depends on the success of their mission.
Lucifer seeks the key to the Gate of Promise, and when Schuyler is taken captive and delivered straight to Hell, she must make an unthinkable choice--the same one the archangel Michael was forced to make during the Crisis in Rome. Will Schuyler find the strength to do what he could not?
The epic, heartbreaking Blue Bloods series comes to a close with this final novel about staggering courage, unbearable sacrifice, and the immortality of true love.
Note: Another series ending!
10.
Title: The Indigo Spell: A Bloodlines Novel
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover
Cost: $15.20
Synopsis:
Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives. In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.
Movies
11.
Title: Beautiful Creatures
Release Date: February 13, 2013
12.
Title: Mortal Instruments
Release Date: August 23, 2013
13.
Title: Game of Thrones Season 3
Release Date: March 31, 2013
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as
well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the
whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in
a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor
Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it
together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the
worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying
reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis
Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including
draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and
subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.
She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret
crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who
may have dark motives of his own.
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the
tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that
Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s
psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.
Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to
suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and
battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory
caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but
she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.
As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby
Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the
utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she
can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.
Doctor Victor Frankenstein's previously unacknowledged beautiful, intelligent
twin daughters (from an early marriage when he was a student) have come to
Frankenstein's Castle to claim it as their inheritance.
Shortly thereafter they learn that a serial killer is on the loose. They try
to ignore this — Gretchen takes up her father's work, while Ingrid throws lavish
parties. Gretchen and Ingrid form a love triangle with a young naval officer
with a debilitating disease. Though he loves Ingrid, he agrees to work with
Gretchen on a series of body transplants that improve his condition. Before long
he is even walking without his cane. He does not know that the science that is
helping him is the science of death itself . . .
A twisted, macabre journey of romance and horror.
If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The
suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling
author of the Wake trilogy.
Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells
like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck
to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.
What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over,
Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in
the snow.
The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s
the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees.
The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because
now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows.
Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.
In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times
bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her
vision from becoming reality.
A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author
of If I Stay
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu"
Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground
performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark.
After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to
Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in
Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a
journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through
Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of
those confines.
Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly
romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!
Solange Drake has been officially crowned Queen of the Vampires, fulfilling
the centuries old prophecy that foretold the rise to power of a daughter born to
an ancient vampire line. Except Solange's thoughts and actions are no longer her
own-she's been slowly being possessed by the spirit of Viola, the first daughter
born into the Drake line, since her bloodchange. And instead of uniting the
vampire tribes under the rule of an ancient daughter as the prophecy predicted,
Viola would rather destroy them all and enslave humans in a personal vendetta
for the devastation both wrought to her life centuries ago. Can Solange break
her hold in time to save everyone she loves from a vampire civil war, hunter
attack, and each other?
Not everyone will survive the prophecy . . . perhaps not
even her.
I plan to spend my busy holidays doing as much reading as possible. I plan to travel across the galaxy learning the truth about life of Godspeed with Amy and Elder, trying to survive the Vancouver wilderness with Maya and her friends, watching Daimons fight to the death at The Carnival of Souls and joining Wendy as she discovers that she is a changeling who was switched at birth.
Will you be travelling to any epic journey's this holiday?
GODSPEED WAS FUELED BY LIES. NOW IT IS RULED BY CHAOS.
It's been three
months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she
looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed.
But there may
just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act
on his vision--no more Phydus, no more lies.
When Elder learns shocking
news about the ship, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on
Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a mystery that was set in
motion hundreds of years earlier. Their success--or failure--will determine the
fate of the 2,298 passengers who remain aboard Godspeed. But with each
step, the journey becomes more perilous, the ship more chaotic, and love between
them more impossible to fight.
Beth Revis catapulted readers into the far
reaches of space with her New York Times bestselling debut, Across the
Universe. In A Million Suns, Beth deepens the mystery with action,
suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds
to one mind-bending conclusion: THEY HAVE TO GET OFF THIS SHIP.
On the heels of the wildly popular The Gatheringcomes the
second in the "Darkness Rising" YA trilogy from NYT bestselling author
Kelley Armstrong. Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark
of what she truly is--a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see
better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the
animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of
time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there
may be others in her small town with surprising talents.
Now, Maya and
her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they
suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling
helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with
nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back
home.
In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the
power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both
murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival
hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling
elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if
for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way
to try to live.
All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch
there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical
teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans
quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She
knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she
readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of
The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for
Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is
the Carnival of Souls.
Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published
novels have sold millions of copies all over the world, and Switched is the book
that started the phenomenon. Prepare to be enchanted…
When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a
monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother
might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to
be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.
Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every
encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce
attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals
the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to
take her home.
Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one
that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life
behind to discover who she’s meant to become…
Below you will find my top 10 list of favorite Adult Urban Fantasy series! These are the series that when a new book comes out I do a little happy dance before rushing home to read well into (and usually beyond) the witching hour. Do you have a top 10 list to share? If you do comment with a link or feel free to list them all in the comments section! I am always looking for suggestions for new books/series to read.
Rachel Morgan is a runner with the Inderland Runner Services, apprehending law-breakers throughout Cincinnati. She's also a witch, one of the many Inderlanders who revealed themselves after a genetically engineered virus wiped out 50 percent of humanity. Witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves-the creatures of dreams and nightmares have lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But now they've stopped hiding, and nothing will be the same.On the run with a contract on her head, Rachel reluctantly teams up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner…and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crimelord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death…not to mention her own roommate!Fun, sassy, filled with action, humor, and romance, Dead Witch Walking is the perfect summer listen for anyone who likes vampires, paranormal fantasy, romance, or just a great beach book.
MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car
that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your
perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something
extraordinary happens.
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue
to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in
search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a
shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same
treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge:
staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she
possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the
dangerous realm of the Fae….
As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her
sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a
man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the
truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human
women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble,
Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone
else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds
nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their
hands….
In a sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches became the "it" book of
early 2011, bringing Deborah Harkness into the spotlight and galvanizing fans
around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young
scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted
alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance
summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man,
vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Harkness has created a universe to rival
those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a
scholar's depth to this riveting story of magic and suspense. And the story
continues in Book Two, Shadow of Night.
Introducing Anita Blake, vampire hunter extraordinaire. Most people don't even bat an eye at vampires since they've been given equal rights by the Supreme Court. But Anita knows better--she's seen their victims. . . . A serial killer is murdering vampires, however, and now the most powerful vampire in town wants Anita to find the killer.
Click here for a series synopsis from the authors web page.
An erotically charged, addictive thriller from the future queen of
suspense.
Living in Toronto for a year, Elena is leading the normal life
she has always dreamed of, including a stable job as a journalist and a nice
apartment shared with her boyfriend. As the lone female werewolf in existence,
only her secret midnight prowls and her occasional inhuman cravings set her
apart. Just one year ago, life was very different. Adopted by the Pack when
bitten, Elena had spent years struggling with her resentment at having her life
stolen away. Torn between two worlds, and overwhelmed by the new passions
coursing through her body, her only option for control was to deny her awakening
needs and escape.
But now the Pack has called Elena home to help them
fight an alliance of renegade werewolves who are bent on exposing and
annihilating the Pack. And although Elena is obliged to rejoin her "family," she
vows not to be swept up in Pack life again, no matter how natural it might feel.
She has made her choice. Trouble is, she's increasingly uncertain if it's the
right one.
An erotically charged thriller, Bitten will awaken the
voracious appetite of every reader, as the age-old battle between man and beast,
between human and inhuman forces, comes to a head in one small town and within
one woman's body.
“My name is Meredith Gentry, but of course it’s not my real name. I dare
not even whisper my true name after dark for fear that one hushed word will
travel over the night winds to the soft ear of my aunt, the Queen of the Air and
Darkness. She wants me dead. I don’t even know why.”Meredith
Gentry, Princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los
Angeles, living as a P.I. specializing in supernatural crime. But now the
Queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her back–whether she likes it or
not. Suddenly Meredith finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt’s plans. The job
that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men
in the world. The reward: the crown–and the opportunity to continue to live. The
penalty for failure: death.
Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town
Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her
coworkers checks out....
Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a
shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to
continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a
Stray attacked.
I'd been warned about Strays—werecats without a Pride—constantly on the
lookout for someone like me: attractive, female and fertile. I fought him off,
but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.
This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back…for my own
protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever—and
whoever—I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays—'cause I got
claws, and I'm not afraid to use them….
In this exciting debut, author Keri Arthur explodes onto the supernatural scene
with a sexy, sensuous tale of intrigue and suspense set in a world where legends
walk and the shady paths of the underworld are far more sinister than anyone
envisioned.
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her
twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an
organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from
their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley
is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his
missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is
vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her
need to mate becomes all-consuming.…
Luckily Riley has two willing
partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if
she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with
frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably
naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.
In matters
carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her
instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For
someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate
warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just
how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs
her.
All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the
people. Now she is a Spoken Word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light
Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons-predators that people
tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford
such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires has been killing
the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music.
When
strange attacks erupt within the club drug-trafficking network and draw the
attention of the police, Damali realizes these killings are a bit out of the
ordinary, even for vampires. Instead of neat puncture marks in the neck showing
where the blood has been drained from the body, these corpses are mutilated
beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that
surpasses any Damali has encountered before. Soon she discovers that behind
these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire Damali has ever met-a
seductive beast who is coming for her next...
Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: A Souls Trilogy
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: December 27, 2011
Format: Hardcover $21.00 CDN or $12.27 Paperback
Age Group: Adult
My Copy: Library
Extras: Movie Adaptation!!
Synopsis:
It all begins with a lost manuscript, a reluctant witch, and 1,500-year-old
vampire. Dr. Diana Bishop has a really good reason for refusing to do magic: she
is a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch Trials,
and her parents cautioned her be discreet about her talents before they were
murdered, presumably for having "too much power." So it is purely by accident
that Diana unlocks an enchanted long-lost manuscript (a book that all manner of
supernatural creatures believe to hold the story of all origins and the secret
of immortality) at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and finds herself in a race
to prevent an interspecies war.
A sparkling debut written by a historian and
self-proclaimed oenophile, A Discovery of Witches is heady mix of history
and magic, mythology and love (cue the aforementioned vampire!), making for a
luxurious, intoxicating, one-sitting read.
My Review:
A Discovery of Witches is Diana Gabaldons Outlander series but with Vampires, Witches and Demons! (Side note: I just read the Amazon synopsis where this novel is compared to the writings of Diana Gabaldon....apparently there are no original thoughts anymore!) This is the by far in my top five favorite books of 2012.
Described as the "it"book for good reason, A Discovery of Witchess engages the reader in a complex mystery with a scientific bent all while telling the passionate and forbidden love story between a witch and a vampire. For readers who like their heroines to be smart, savvy and passionate and their knights to be bold, protective and sensual you are sure to fall in love with Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont.
What I loved most about this novel was that Deborah Harkness never revealed to much to soon, she revealed what was necessary to keep you engaged and turning the pages well into the witching hour.
I hesitate to recommend this book to everyone. I think it is best suited for adult fantasy addicts who are looking for their next epic read. This novel is the first in the All Souls Trilogy and I am about to dive into book 2, Shadow of Night!
Without hesitation and with great enthusiasm I give this book my highest rating.
A werewolf wants to take you into his world. Forever.
Celeste and Brandon know that Nash in werewolf form is bad news. But a new
prediction from psychic Dr. Meadows has Celeste wondering: Which of them wants
to turn her into a werewolf?
Still on Celeste's and Brandon's minds is the "cure" from Brandon's father.
Brandon must face one dilemma he hadn't anticipated—if his dad's serum really
does work, is he willing to give up being a werewolf for good? Is Celeste
willing to give up her heroic werewolf boyfriend? And when Nash finds out
there's a cure, will he try to take it from Brandon as they continue to deal
with their rivalry, their competing affections for Celeste, and their struggles
with their werewolf identities?
Then things grow still more complicated when a gang of sketchy guys from a
neigh-boring town comes to Legend's Run just before the big Werewolf Festival.
What, or whom, are they looking for?
The third installment in the sumptuous series about werewolves and the
popular girl who loves one is
full of danger, mystery, and undeniably romantic
full moon kisses.
Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in
a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and
quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where
human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks.
Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning
on each other…
And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly
impossible.
Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can
barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like
the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across
won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face
appears out of nowhere, offering to help…
Carter was a schoolmate of
Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable
knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his
own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat
to the human race...
It's spring break, and the pretty little liars are trading in Rosewood for a
cruise vacation. They want nothing more than to sail into the tropical sunset
and leave their troubles behind for one blissful week.
But where Emily, Aria,
Spencer, and Hanna go, A goes, too. From scuba diving to tanning on the upper
deck, A is there, soaking up all their new secrets.
Emily is smooching a stowaway. Aria's treasure-hunting partner is a little
too interested in her booty. Spencer's going overboard trying to land a new boy.
And a blast—or rather, a crash—from Hanna's past could mean rough waters ahead
for everyone.
The liars better tighten their life jackets. A perfect storm is brewing, and
if they aren't careful, A will bury them at sea. . . .
Arthurian legend mixes with modern-day witchcraft in this haunting sequel to
Legacy, which Publishers Weekly said “should please the legions of
paranormal fans looking for a sophisticated supernatural thriller.”
After the riveting—and romantic—events of Legacy, Katy has won Peter’s
heart and is nowclaiming her place in the magical world. Though half the
students at her boarding school come from witching lines, the use of magic is
expressly forbidden at Ainsworth, so as to keep the witching world hidden from
the blue-blooded preppies, aka Muffies, who also walk the halls.
But the Muffies have at least a notion of magic, because Katy catches
them staging a made-up ritual—and to her astonishment, the girls collapse at
Katy’s feet and fall into comas. When Katy is blamed, she becomes desperate to
clear her name and finds herself battling all odds to harness her growing
magical powers in order to save the Muffies and dispel the Darkness once more.
Release Date: December 6, 2012 (Note* While a Teen Mag
web site states this release date I can not back it up on amazon, Chapters,
or Fantastic Fiction).
Online Price: Unknown
Tag: Paranormal/Werewolf
Katelyn had only been in Wolf Springs a few weeks before she was attacked by a werewolf. And now she carries that creature's curse in her veins. But she's not alone. Wolf Springs is home to werewolves. And they swear that it wasn't any of them who bit her. Changing humans without permission means the death penalty, and they're none too happy about Katelyn.
The only explanation is that there's a monster on the loose - something wild and uncontrollable. Because Katelyn has some of its power.And two guys want Katelyn: one dark and mysterious, yet perhaps the perfect confidant; the other ferocious and forbidden - a werewolf that she can't keep her hands off of.
With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body?
No one is like Daemon Black. When he set out to prove his feelings for Katy, he wasn't fooling around. Doubting him isn't something she'll do again and now that they've made it through the rough patches, well, there's a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.
But even he can't protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they loved. With help coming from the most unlikely source and Adam's death still lingering with those who loved him, friends will become the deadliest of enemies and the villains will no longer be clear.
When each step they take in discovering the truth puts them in the path of the secret organization responsible torturing and testing hybrids, the more Katy realizes there is no end to what she's capable of. They won't turn back, even if the outcome will shatter their worlds forever.
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed.
Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call
the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government
“rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s
killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with
something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now
sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out,
Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to
find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of
kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for
Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close.
Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River,
nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other
forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight
against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may
mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
Camelia Hammond's trying junior year of high school is finally over...but
her troubles aren't. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she
escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family - and
boyfriend - drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.
At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a
local girl who is missing. Even though all signs suggest that the teen ran away,
Camelia senses otherwise. Eager to help the girl, she launches her own
investigation. She finds a blog by someone named Neal Moche, a psychometric
who might have clues to Sasha's whereabouts. There is something familiar about
Neal, and Camelia realizes how much she misses Ben, despite being committed to
Adam.
But time is running out for Sasha, and Camelia will have to trust her
powers if she's to save her. Will the lessons Camelia has learned in the past
give her the strength to do so?
Ithought vampires were our enemies—they controlled our lives, isolated our
cities, and demanded our blood—until I met Victor. With Victor taking over as
the new Lord Valentine, things were supposed to get better. Instead, they're
worse than ever.
Day Walkers, a new breed of vampires who can walk in the sun, are terrorizing
the city. Blood supplies are low, and if Victor's vampires don't get enough,
they will become infected with the Thirst—a disease that will turn them into
mindless killers.
To stop it, I must journey across the desolate wasteland to the very place
where the sickness began. I can only hope that the answers that await me are
enough to save us all . . . before it's too late.
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