The Dark and Hollow Places (Forest of Hands and Teeth Book #3) by Carrie Ryan

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.

Except, Catcher has his own secrets -- dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah -- can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

-Amazon product description.

While amazing conclusion to this great zombie dystopian trilogy, The Dark and Hollow Places still left me wanting more. I can't get enough of this vast world Ryan has created. Though the stories of these characters have come to a close, I really hope she continues to write in the same world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

-Sam.

Night School (Blood Coven #5) by Mari Mancusi

After their parents' shocking revelation about their fae heritage and an attack on their lives, the McDonald twins are forced to hide out deep in the Swiss Alps at Riverdale Academy, a secret vampire slayer training facility. And with no way to contact their vampire boyfriends for rescue, they're going to have to play nice with the locals.

But when Sunny starts acting strange, Rayne realizes that there's more to fear at Riverdale than getting staked by the student body-leading to a showdown in Fairyland that may cost the twins their lives.

-Amazon product description.

This series just keeps getting better and better! While the premise of Sunny and Rayne's parents being faeries seemed a bit too cheesy for me when it was introduced at the conclusion of Bad Blood, Mancusi managed to make it work. I have so much fun reading these books! They're extremely witty and self-aware. To anyone looking for a vampire series with a tad bit more bite than Twilight, I encourage everyone to check out the Blood Coven.

-Sam.

Misguided Angel by Melissa De La Cruz

After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the five remaining gates that guard the earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silver Bloods.

Back in New York, Mimi has been elected Regent of a crumbling coven. Struggling with her heartache over the loss of Kingsley and with her overwhelming desire to destroy Jack, she must focus all of her energy on a perilous new threat. Vampires are being abducted and their captors are planning to burn them alive online…for all the world to see. Help arrives in the form of Deming Chen, a Venator from Shanghai, who must untangle the web of deceptions before the killers strike again.

As the young vampires struggle for the survival of the coven, they uncover a deadly secret, a truth first discovered by Schuyler’s mother during the Renaissance but kept buried for centuries. And as the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler to a terrible choice that will ultimately map the destiny of her heart.

-Official website summary.

Vampires are becoming a pretty tired subject in pop culture as of late. The Blue Bloods series, however, has only been getting better with each installment. This series, which poses the theory that vampires are nothing more than fallen angels cursed to live out eternity on earth, is surprisingly original for it's genre. In this particular installment, I absolutely loved the new character of Deming Chen. She's a bad-ass Venator from Shanghai and will stop at nothing until she uncovers the truth. I hope her character pops up again.

Released this month was a follow up to Misguided Angel titled Bloody Valentine. This novella is comprised of three short stories that follow the lives of Oliver, Allegra, Schuyler, and Jack. Fans also (finally!) get to witness the bonding of Schuyler and Jack... but will everything go according to plan?

-Sam

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

After the tragic death of her younger brother (of which she blames herself for), musically gifted high school senior Andi Alpers' life is in a downward spiral. Her scientist father lives out of state with his new family and rarely visits, her artist mother spends most days painting portraits of her son in a near catatonic state, and Andi has begun to rely on anti-depressants to help cope.

One day, upon learning that Andi hasn't been keeping up with her studies (apart from music lessons), is in danger of not graduating, and seeing his ex-wife's mental state, her father demands that she accompany him on a business trip to Paris for her winter break. Normally this type of offer would delight most girls her age, but for Andi, spending two weeks alone with her estranged father is more like a prison sentence. He also insists that his ex-wife be committed to a psychiatric ward in order to get the help she needs for the duration of the trip.

Eventually, Andi agrees to the vacation. She sees it as a time she can spend relaxing and playing her music. Plus, she has always loved the city. Andi and her father are staying with some friends of the family, the husband of which is a historian of the French Revolution. He has many artifacts and papers from the revolution. One of these artifacts is a guitar found in pristine condition in the Paris catacombs. Andi is immediately entranced, and upon examining the guitar's unique case, discovers a hidden secret. Inside the lining lies the diary of a young girl named Alexandrine Paradis, whom Andi learns became the ward of the son of Marie Antoinette.

Through this diary, Andi senses a shocking parallel between her life and Alexandrine's. As the diary's plot unfolds, more secrets become unearthed, and these entries hold the key to Andi's salvation.

As a lover of music and historical fiction, this novel had me hooked from the first page. Both Andi and Alex's plots were heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. Though a few parts are slower paced than others, I found myself devouring the book. I tried not to give too much away in my summary, and completely left out the ending. I want it to throw everyone for a loop like it did me!

One of the reasons I have been slacking in my recommendations is a lack of passion for anything I've attempted to read. Revolution, however, left me completely engrossed. Though parts of it are a fictionalized account of the French Revolution, it painted a very hauntingly realistic picture of the time. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story, and eventually I wish to read Jennifer Donnelly's first novel A Northern Light.

-Sam

Wow!

Apologies for the lack of updates everyone! I promise to be more diligent with this blog for 2011. A whole new year means a whole new batch of books just waiting to be read & reviewed! :D Expect a new recommendation up in just a short while.