What are you reading? February 2014

I can't believe it's February already! Kicked off this reading month with The Girl of Fire and Thorns, which I'm really enjoying so far.

Sara - I've heard really good things about The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I'll be glad to hear what you think of it.

Over the weekend, I read The War at Ellsmere, a YA graphic novel set at a prestigious private boarding school. I generally enjoyed it, though there was a bit of a slip in of some fantasy elements that jarred me a bit as the rest of the story seemed fairly firmly grounded in reality.

I'm currently in the middle of Dance of Shadows, which seems to be a weirdly creepy (think possible demons or possession?) version of Center Stage...in which our young ballet dancer protagonist has enrolled in an elite ballet academy to find her missing older sister who disappeared. And has managed to get herself embroiled in some sort of weird triangle. I can't stop laughing anytime the current male lead turns up though - he's named ZEPPELIN, of all things...

2> Zeppelin? I hope he hasn't LED her on. *groans at own pun*

This month I plan on reading Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi and In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin.

Finished The Girl of Fire and Thorns and am a little torn--I wound up feeling a little disappointed, but it could just be because the book wasn't what I expected? I really enjoyed the first part because it seemed like the book was going to have a mostly palace court setting with a lot of interpersonal intrigue, with romance and political world building as the sprinkles on top. It turned out a little more adventurous than I'd initially thought it would be, and the romantic elements didn't ring true for me. I'd probably read further in the series, but I don't think I'd consider it a favorite.

>Booklizard - hahahahaha; he does actually!

I'm currently reading more of a "New Adult" than young adult novel - where the main characters are college aged. I think it's a romance, but I get the distinct feeling that I've jumped into the middle of a series with Because of Low and I actually am not really liking either Marcus (too much paternalistic nonsense, weird family dynamic, and tendency to call his father's new girlfriend nasty things in his head) or Willow (seems to think paternalistic nonsense is ok "because he's cute" or just in general; plus a bit manic pixie dreamgirl happening with everybody being head over heels for her).

@Carmellunacy: It looks like Because of Low is the second book in the series, so you were right.

I recently finished Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing. There were some aspects of the book I really liked (her beautiful prose, Romanian setting, fairy tale retelling), but one of the romances made me roll my eyes. A lot. The girl is refusing food and near death because she is parted from her dearest love. Girl, pull yourself together. I quite liked her sister's romance a bit more (thank goodness she was the narrator), but the villain was all kinds of ugh. I guess if that was the point, Marillier did something right. If you want a great introduction to Marillier's work, I say skip this one and pick up her Shadowfell series. So much better.

I also finished Cruel Beauty, a Beauty and the Beast retelling that had a smattering of Greek/Roman mythology thrown in for good measure. I loved the setting and I loved the mythology, but I just wanted to head slap the main character most of the time, she was that annoying.

Since you asked, consider BEFORE MY EYES... pub date: 2.11.14.
Also reading -- Laurie Halse Anderson's new novel...The Impossible Knife of Memory.
Warning both serious, complicated, complex YA.

I just finished The Interrupted Tale (4½****), the fourth installment of Maryrose Wood's The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. It's been described as "Jane Eyre meets Lemony Snicket" and I didn't at all care for Lemony Snicket, except for the first couple of installments and the last couple – the middle of the series really dragged. That isn't happening with Incorrigible Children, but that may be because I've been reading each volume as it's been issued. In contrast, I read Lemony Snicket straight through after the entire series had been out. Maybe Incorrigible Children could also pall on you if read straight through, but taken one-by-one as released it's extremely good fun (and of course the Jane Eyre orphan-to-governess connection doesn't hurt either).

Reading Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. Found out there is a book that came before it, but still really enjoying the book. Excellent book from a male perspective.

Cress, the third in The Lunar Chronicles was another excellent one in this series. My review's on the book page.

I totally agree, jnwelch! I'm rereading Cress now, as well as reading Robin McKinley's retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty. I also received an e-galley of The Cracks in the Kingdom, the second book in the Colours of Madeleine series by Jaclyn Moriarty.

Finished The Keeping Place by Isobelle Carmody at last and now moving on to Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver. I've heard that this is a good one. I'm hoping so as although when I started the series I was really enjoying it, that enjoyment has waned as the series has gone on.

I read Roomies yesterday afternoon, which was a sweet little book. I liked both the girls and enjoyed following their tentative efforts to get to know each other via email during the summer before college, where they will be roommates. The book tackles all the usual YA subjects - friendships, family, boys, future hopes and dreams - with humour and understanding, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a non-fantasy/SF teen read.

I've just started on A.G. Howard's Splintered, a contemporary and very creepy/freaky version of Lewis Carroll, creepy/freaky in a realistic way to the extent that I may not continue through the anticipated trilogy.

Grasshopper Jungle. It's been very interesting and weird in a good way. :

I'm finally getting to Liar, which I've had on the backburner for a long time. Then it's on to Seraphina

Still haven't got around to starting Ghost hunter but am part way through The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night Time.

Finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time yesterday and have started both Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne today.

I just started reading Better Nate Than Ever about a 13-year-old who plans a secret trip to NY to audition for ET the Musical on Broadway. The audition hasn't been going so well so far, but it's a fun book!

Reading Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi.

Finally got to start Cress--as soon as I bought it, a bunch of library books that I'd had on hold came in and I had to read those first.

SaraHope: I hope you enjoy Cress as much as I did.

I just finished rereading Red Rising by Pierce Brown. It's not YA, but I think it has great crossover appeal, especially among the fans of Game of Thrones (though this book is set on future Mars, not a fantasy world). Most sci-fi books that I've come across seem to be heavily plot-centric, but I was pleasantly surprised to find this book to be a good balance between character and plot. Brown's created both a fascinating world and a cast of characters who I just adored (well, the one's you are supposed to). It's an intense read and frequently brutal, but I highly recommend giving it a shot.

I'm currently rereading Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier because none of the options in my towering stack of library books appeal to me at the moment. Plus it's a great book. I need the third book in the trilogy pretty much now.

#23 Cress was everything I'd hoped for and more. Can't wait for Winter. This is far and away one of my fav YA series ever.

SaraHope: I know! It just puts a smile on my face every time I think about it.