Anne Heltzel’s debut novel, Circle 9
Full disclosure: I read an advance copy, so I’m unable to quote from the book.

A fairly short novel, but not without depth, Circle 9 is the story of Abby, a girl who wakes with no memory, covered with ashes, with only a sense of connection to the boy by her side. This is a powerfully engaging story with dark themes, and no easy answers. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. I highly recommend, but be warned that it is not a happy story.

Love’s Labours Won (available for purchase here) by S.G. Lee

This paranormal romance/thriller straddles the line between young adult/teen fiction and

adult fiction. The e-book is approximately 210 pages, and available for nearly every device imaginable.

This is a quick-paced and fun read. Sarah is young and unemployed but willing to work, making her a character that is easy to identify with. Sarah has no family to turn to for help — at least she believes she has no family. Where the book gets interesting is that when Sarah finds out (quite by accident on her part, she was just looking for a job) that she has family she didn’t know about, she opens a whole can of worms. There is intrigue, magic, murder and some doubt as to who can be trusted. Sarah is a strong-willed female character who is sweet and kind without being a pushover which I really like after reading recent fiction that involved “blank-slate” female characters with all the ambition and self-identity of a slug. Sarah never sits back and waits for rescue when she knows that she is in trouble.

I highly recommend this book. ★★★★ out of ★★★★★

I’m not available to do anything but work on my thesis until after April 13 (Thesis Defense Day!)

So, in lieu of actually doing work myself, I point you to this blog, Juiciliciousss Reviews for your fix!

AND, you should know that Juiciliciousss Reviews is doing a YA Book Giveaway: See Here for more details!

Carrie Jones’ Need revolves around a teenage girl named Zara who is moving from warm North Carolina to chilly Maine. That description sounds similar to Twilight’s Bella who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, but the similarity ends there. (more…)

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series sounded similar to Alyson Noel’s Evermore series, and  P.C. & Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, but I decided to give it a chance in case it wasn’t generic young adult vampire fiction. (more…)

Claudia Gray’s Evernight, and Evernight 2: Stargazer feature a young girl named Bianca who is forced to attend

the super-creepy Evernight Academy because her parents are teachers there. The academy has dark secrets that even Bianca doesn’t realize. (more…)

I’ll update with a thumbs up/thumbs down and a book review for each of these as I finish them. (more…)

This post started mainly as a list for my cousin, a 14 year old who adored the Twilight series but I’ve put a bit of research into related books, and read quite a few before coming up with a list of books that I think would be interesting to a Twilight fan whether they’re 14 or 40. (more…)