Night World no. 1 - LJ Smith

 In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.

Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.

Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.

I wasn't too keen of Secret Vampire and was a little weary after that story. After that, Daughters of Darkness was really good and I loved Spellbinder. I recommend this book and the group of stories in it. I'm glad this one was the first book, since I don't think I'd continue on if the second had been the first.

Night World no. 2 - LJ Smith

In Dark Angel, Gillian is saved from drowning by her guardian angel. Only visible to Gillian, Angel will fulfill her heart's every desire. But when Angel starts making strange and sinister requests, Gillian must question who he truly is and where he came from.

Armed with a wooden stake, martial arts, and the will to resist a vampire's mind control, Rashel struggles to avenge her mother's death in The Chosen. Then she meets Quinn, her soulmate, who is part of the world she has vowed to destroy.

Hannah receives notes warning her of incredible danger in Soulmate. But if death is her destiny, is the Lord of the Night World's love strong enough to save her?

I liked the first book better, the stories weren't as compelling as I'd hoped. The Chosen started off promising, but ended really cheesy. I should stop comparing everything to Twilight! ;) I liked Dark Angel, but I thought the end was really silly. I wish it could've ended a little more dark than it had.

***

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

I absolutely could not put this book down. I finished it in about twoish days and I am so happy I got the other two books in the series or I'd be going out to Barnes and Noble in my nightgown to get them! It's about a sixteen year old girl named Gemma and it's set in the late 1800's-1900's and something terrible happens to her family. She then moves to London where she goes to an all girl boarding school and discovers things about her mother and some other magical properties. It was really interesting and I found myself reading really late into the night so I could know what happens next. I can't wait to start the second one! This book and series is easily one of my favorites ever, not to mention the gorgeous cover! Love.

*****

The Vampire Diaries (1 & 2) - LJ Smith

 Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.
Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.
Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her.
Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

Having read the Night World books by the author and wasn't a fan, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this series. At first I was a little distrusting, but once Damien came into the picture, I enjoyed it very much. I'm really interested to see where LJ takes it, I have the third and fourth so luckily I don't have to wait long. :)

****

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

I thought this book had everything I was looking for: humor, substance, and heart! I'd heard through the grapevine that all Jacob lovers needed to read this novel and they were absolutely right. Your heart absolutely goes out to Junior and all of his endeavors. You can tell his heart is in the right place but nothing works out for his benefit.

Junior is also a cartoonist so there were drawings in the book and I thought it was a great addition and it broke up the novel wonderfully. I found myself turning the pages not only to keep reading, but to see what illustrations were going to be on the page. Some of the accounts actually happened to the author as well, so that was neat that he put so much of himself into the book and Junior's character.

I felt that by the end of this novel I could have considered Junior a friend, and I laughed with him, cried with him, and felt everything he felt as if I were going through it too. I fell in love with this character so much and I believed in him so much. I adored this novel and I can safely say it's one of my absolute favorties to read so please get yourselves a dozen copies!

*****