Books I Read in 2011

It's A List!: YA Romance Novels to Look Forward to in 2012 That Are Not In A Series (Part 2 of 2)

17. Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Expected Publication: February 28, 2012

18. The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jenson

Expected Publication: February 16, 2012

19. Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Expected Publication: February 2, 2012

20.  New Girl by Paige Harbison

Expected Publication: January 31, 2012

21. Forbidden by Syrie James

Expected Publication: January 24, 2012

22. Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

Expected Publication: January 5, 2012

23. Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler

Expected Publication: January 5, 2012

24. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Expected Publication: January 3, 2012

25. Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Expected Publication: January 3, 2012

26.  The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Expected Publication: January 2, 2012

27. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Expected Publication:  2012

It's A List!: YA Romance Novels to Look Forward to in 2012 That Are Not In A Series (Part 1 of 2)

1. Seven Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker

Expected Publication: April 26, 2012

2. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Expected Publication: March 13, 2012

3.  Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Expected Publication: May 1, 2012

4. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Expected Publication: April 24, 2012

5. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

6. In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

7. First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

8. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

9.  When You Close Your Eyes by Celeste Conway

Expected Publication: March 20, 2011

10.  The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

Expected Publication: July 10, 2012

11.  If I Lie by Corinne Jackson

Expected Publication: August 28, 2012

12.  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Expected Publication: June 14, 2012

13.  Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Expected Publication: August 2012

14.  Wrecked by Anna Davies

Expected Publication: May 1, 2012

15.  The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Expected Publication: July 17, 2012

16.  Wicked Jealous: A Love Story by Robin Palmer

Expected Publication: July 19, 2012

The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

Rating: 2/5


When I first noticed this book on Goodreads, I paid no attention to the title or the description. I only had eyes for the author's name: Jennifer Echols. Jennifer Echols is a big deal to me when it comes to the YA romance genre. So, when I saw that she authored this novel I just knew it was going to be good. No, let me rephrase that: I just assumed it was going to be good. And we all know what happens when we assume. 


For a YA novel published in 2011 (sorry to say, but the standards for a good YA novel these days have lowered tremendously), it wasn't horrible. I even enjoyed it a bit. But, for a YA novel written by Jennifer Echols? Bleh. The ending was cheese (and I'm not talking cute cheese, I'm talking If I Have A Wicked Stepmother Where's My Prince cheese) and felt kind of rushed. Now, this is just my opinion. You really have to see for yourself. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you really just have to read a book about a girl lusting after her best friend's boyfriend while said best friend turns out to be a rhymes-with-witch, then I would recommend Something Like Fate (Susane Colasanti) or The Unwritten Rule (Elizabeth Scott) or even Sometimes it Happens (Lauren Barnholdt....and we all know I don't have too high an opinion of her writing, so that's saying something). My point is that since there are plenty more novels out there with similar story lines, you can skip this one. 


Oh but wait! There was one thing I liked about this novel: the main character's journey from overweight to healthy. Although we don't get to actually witness this journey, we do get to see the before and after. Her weight was an important part of the story, and it was a part that I liked and could relate to. That part alone was enough to give this two stars, but not enough to make me like this novel. The bad outweighed the good. Echols needs to step up her game and quit slacking!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

Rating: 5/5


Okay, let me just say that this is the best book I've read this year (next to Wither). Looks like someone in the YA business decided to step up their game. I loved the originality, and the ending. But I hate cliffhangers :/ The heroine kind of puts me in the mind of Rogue from X-Men (the movies, as I'm well aware that the comics differed greatly even though I didn't read them). And I LOVED Noah (although I can't stop thinking about The Notebook when I see his name).  I cannot wait until next year! Oh, and do you wanna know the twist at the end? Well too bad! ;p

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Rating: 4/5


Very cute. This is just the type of book I've been looking for. A nice break from vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, demons, and witches. No complaints....maybe I'll think of one later though....oh wait, I have one! *Sidenote: hehe, is the fact that I find joy in pointing out flaws cynical?...joking. I don't find joy in it. I find comfort. If it was perfect, it would've been boring, anyway ;p*Lola's cluelessness got on my nerves at times. There were times when I wanted to jump in the book and slap her. Like how could she not KNOW these things? But, even though she was a bit dense at times, I have to admit that I adored her character. While Lola once looked up to Calliope, I actually kind of look up to Lola. I admire her guts, her creativity, her confidence. She had such a colorful soul, and I wish I could possess just an ounce of her charisma. I also found myself falling in love with Cricket. He had that sexy geek thing going on...and, he was so sweet. And selfless. 

And I could go on and on about the characters, but I'm not, because this review is already longer than I originally intended (I'd planned on writing maybe two or three sentences). One last thing about the characters: they were odd, but in a good way...in a great way. 

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Rating: 3/5


I loved the story line, but the writing was a tad short of horrible. It was a bit too cheesy at times. I think Abbi Glines needs to stick to writing from the female's point of view because she hasn't got a clue how guys think and talk. Not sure whether or not you know this about me, but I'm a closet perv and sucker for (well written) smut. So, I enjoyed a few of the scenes more than others in here, if you catch my drift. *wink wink* Overall, it was a cute story and if you're looking for something light, I'd recommend it.

Legacy by Molly Cochran

Five out of Five stars.


Such a high rating rewarded to such a worthy book. This is the best book that I've read in a long time. It's rare that I find a good book these days, and I really lucked up when I received this one in the Galley Grab newsletter. Now of course, I didn't just jump into this right away, because that just wouldn't be me. No, I had to read the Goodreads reviews first. From the few reviews that I found, I discovered that there weren't really many fans of this book. Personally, I didn't see the problem. I mean the story line was...imaginative? I don't know if there really is a word to describe it, but what I do know is that for supernatural novel it was highly original and I could tell that Molly Cochran really did her research. The characters were lovable enough. The romance wasn't built plainly on lust disguised as love like most YA Romance novels these days (although I can't say that I would mind much if it was...pervert? Guilty as charged. ;D). The writing was just beautiful. It had substance, and meaning, which is what a lot of today's paranormal romance novels lack these days. I will admit that a few of the situations and reactions were a tad bit unrealistic, but it is fiction after all. Supernatural fiction, at that. Overall, it was a finely crafted novel and I didn't regret the time spent reading it after I finished it. So yeah, I seriously don't see where all the negative opinions about this came from. I mean, like I said, they're opinions. If you want to hate this novel, then that's your prerogative, but I just want to understand why so many people hated it. Or am I exaggerating? Or maybe the only reason I didn't hate it was because I had lowered my expectations after reading the bad reviews? Maybe...

It's A List!: The Next Book in That Series You Love (YA Novels 2011-2012)

1. Deadly Little Voices by Laurie Faria Stolarz (#4 in the Touch series)

Expected Publication: December 6, 2011

2. The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (#3 in the Body Finder series)

Expected Publication: 2012

3. Spellbound by Rachel (#3 in the Hell Hall Series)

Expected Publication: March 13, 2012

4. Stormy Nights by Ellen Schreiber (#9 in the Vampire Kisses series)

Expected Publication: 2012

5. Fever by Lauren DeStefano (#2 in the Chemical Gardens series)

Expected Publication: February 21, 2012

6. Thumped by Megan McCafferty (#2 in the Bumped series)

Expected Publication: 2012

7. Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter (#5 in the Gallagher Girls series)

Expected Publication: March 20, 2012

7. So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev (#3 in the Theatre Illuminata series)

Expected Publication: September 13, 2011

End Note: Have you noticed that the majority of the books on this list are fantasy oriented? It's a bit sad that YA authors won't take the time to write a great non-fantasy romance novel anymore. Although these series' are awesome, I still miss the good old days where Dessen, Cabot, Abbott, and Scott (Elizabeth, not Westerfield) ruled the teen romance section.

My Apologies Dears!

Oh my goodness, I've been gone far too long! Life has just been so busy! I feel horrible about breaking my promise (again!) on the books I was to review. So, I think I'm going to do away with Coming Soon lists, as I've proven to be unreliable. I don't want to make anymore promises I can't keep, so from now on I'm going to have a "What's Hot" list instead of "Coming Soon" lists, if that's alright with you guys.

Hex Hall Series: Book 1 and 2 by Rachel Hawkins

Before I read this series, I was pretty much turned off the whole paranormal romance thing, because there are just too many of them, and the monotony is killing me. It's rare that you're find a normal normal YA romance novel these days. But it's not just that. That's not the reason why I'm turned off of the genre. It's mainly because they're all the same. The same mythical creatures, the same story formulas. 


But, this one was different, which is why I absolutely loved it. So many twists and turns. It just really kept me guessing. 


The only thing I didn't like was it's blatant similarities to the Evernight Series. And don't tell me that you've read both series and didn't notice! Think about it: girl goes to school designed to train and help [insert mythical creature here] control their powers, girl meets boy at the aforementioned school, girl and boy fall in love/like, girl discovers that boy is actually a member of a secret organization devoted to hunting and killing [insert mythical creature here], boy flees school, girl is forbidden to see boy, boy and girl can't stay away from each other and end up sneaking out to see each other, girl and boy are discovered by [insert name of third (male) member of love triangle here] but he is so in love with girl that he agrees to keep their secret.


So, as you can see, the Hex Hall series had quite a few similarities. But, hex Hall is also very different from Evernight. The Demon/Witch thing was the biggest difference, and while I'm usually opposed to books that contain demonic characters (lie), it was one of the main reasons I loved this series so much. I seriously cannot wait for book three. Demon Glass left on on sort of a cliffhanger. And, it has me really confused on who Sophie should choose. It's like an Edward vs. Jacob thing, except it's Archer vs. Cal. She loves Archer more, but Cal is better for her. Why? Well, let's see here: he's noble, smart, sexy..... But then again, isn't Archer all of those things, too. Well, Cal has something that Archer doesn't--or, more accurately, Archer is something that Cal is not: he's a member of The Eye. 

Books You Should So Totally Read...

*For Mature Audiences* 1. Protective Custody by Wynter Daniels

2. Flyaway by Helen Landalf

*For Mature Audiences* 3. Tell Me More by Janet Mullany

4. Legacy by Cayla Kluver

5. Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

*For Mature Audiences* 6. Collide by Megan Hart

*For Mature Audiences* 7. The Man She Loves to Hate by Kelly Hunter

8. Divergent by Veronica Roth

9. The False Princess by Ellis O'neal

10. A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

*For Mature Audiences* 11. The Countess Takes A Lover by Bonnie Dee