Anticipating the release of Cassandra Clare's fifth book in the Immortal Instruments series? If you can't wait until May 8, then click here to read the first chapter! On her website (and on other websites) Cassandra Clare is releasing six parts of her new book, The City of Lost Souls. Get started by reading the first chapter:
Click here to read the first chapter of The City of Lost Souls.
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
by Sophie Jordan
You don't find many supernatural fiction reads that have dragons at the main creature. Usually, you find dragons in fantasy novels where they are the evil creatures that terrorize the lands. However, in Sophie Jordan's Firelight, she gives us a novel where dragons are shapeshifterswho are being hunted to extinction. For Jacinda, being a dragon is her natural form but she can shape shift to a human form. This is how her species has been able to survive to modern day. Jacinda longs to be free and fly during the day, but her Pride has forbidden it. One day, Jacinda breaks the rules and goes out flying only to be discovered by dragon hunters. When Jacinda almost reveals her Pride to the hunters, she and her family are forced to leave the Pride because Jacinda's mother fears for her daughter's safety from retaliation for Jacinda's carelessness.
What follows is the story of Jacinda and her family struggling to survive in the mortal world and stay safe. They fear their Pride and the life they may force Jacinda to lead, and they also fear being found out by the hunters. Jacinda complicates matters when she begins a forbidden romance with Will, the son of a dragon hunter that is being groomed to be a hunter himself.
Firelight is a great read! It is packed with action and adventure, as well as a good romance story between Jacinda and Will. Pick this book up if you want a different spin on the typical supernatural story or if you want to read a book where dragons are the good guys! Also, check out the book trailer for Firelight:
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Ethan lives in the small southern town of Gatlin, South Carolina. Not much happens in Gatlin, the people who live in Gatlin have lived there all their life and can trace their families back to the Civil War. As far back as Ethan can remember, no one new ever moves to Gatlin, until Lena Duchannes arrives. When Ethan first sees Lena, he recognizes her from the dreams that have been haunting him at night. He is drawn to her, despite his grandmother's warnings. Ethan and Lena are connected by history and also by something supernatural. Lena comes from a long line of Casters, or witches that are cursed to become good or evil Casters on their sixteenth birthday. As Lena's sixteenth birthday approaches, Ethan and Lena become closer and find that not only can they communicate telepathically, but they also share visions of a supernatural event that took place during the Civil War. Lena is not a common Caster, she has more power than most, and is terrified of going dark. Ethan believes that Lena has a choice and as his feelings for her grow stronger, they both race against time to try and figure out some way to break the curse.
Beautiful Creatures is a beautiful read. The setting of Gatlin, South Carolina is just as much a character in the book as Lena and Ethan. This book is epic, though, at about 600 pages but if you stay with it you will experience a great love story, historical mystery, and a very interesting supernatural mythology created around the Casters. Beautiful Creatures is part of a series, called the Caster Chronicles, and books 2 and 3 are available now. There is also a movie adaptation in the works, and casting has just started for the movie. According to the blog Hollywood Crush, the first character to be cast is Amma and she will be played by the Oscar nominated actress Viola Davis (The Help).
Click here to find Beautiful Creatures in the Library! Also, click here to find the second book Beautiful Darkness and click here to find the third book Beautiful Chaos.
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
by Andrea Cremer
Humans who turn into invincible wolves, wizards protecting secret sites, conspiracies, forbidden love, and even a supernatural love triangle. Nightshade has it all–including a strong and interesting female lead. The story centers on Calla. When we first meet her, she is in her wolf form. She is the alpha of her pack, the Nightshades, who are destined to protect the next generation of keepers. The Keepers are magicians who protect sacred spiritual sites and control the wolf packs. Calla and her pack mate Bryn are patrolling the mountains they are sworn to protect, when the come upon Shay, a human guy about their age who is out hiking. He is under attack from a big grizzly bear. Calla can’t figure out what compels her to save Shay, but in doing so she exposes her secret–that she is a human who can transform into a wolf. After Calla saves Shay’s life she realizes she has a strange attraction to him. But she has to ignore her attraction because he is just a human and she is set to join with another pack’s alpha, Ren. She knows that this is her destiny, and that she has no choice in who she can love. Things get complicated, though, when Shay shows up at their elite school as a new student. Shay is determined to learn more about Calla and unfortunately the more Shay finds out, the more danger he and Calla get into.
So, I was surprised to find that I loved this book! I picked it up because there was a ton of hype surrounding it, and of course there were comparisons to Twilight–a love triangle, forbidden romance, and supernatural elements all guarantee that any book will be compared to Twilight. I thought that Nightshade was an excellent read. The mythology that Cremer creates regarding the wolves and magic is believable. Also, the love story is not too dramatic either. But what I liked best about Nightshade was that the main character Calla was a strong female! Not only does Calla save Shay’s life twice, she also is fighting against the life that is imposed upon her.
Nightshade is the first book in a planned trilogy. Click here to find Nightshade, the first book in the trilogy, in the Library. Click here to find Wolfsbane the second book and here to find Bloodrose the third and final book that was just published last week!
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
by Courtney Allison Moulton
Ellie believes that the nightmares she has are only nightmares, but the horrifying dark monsters that terrify her in the night seem so real. When Ellie turns 17, her nightmares become reality and she meets Will. Will is Ellie's Guardian, because Ellie is a Preliator, an ancient warrior that is given the power to kill reapers (the dark monsters that she dreams of). As Ellie begins to train and spend more time with Will, she learns that she has lived the life of the Preliator for hundreds of years and every time she is killed she comes back without the memories of her life and powers before. Will has been her Guardian all this time and he has to find her every time she is reborn and helps her remember her true self. This life for Ellie is different, however, because she is only remembering bits and pieces of her old lives which makes it harder for her to access her true power. This life is also different for Ellie because the dark reapers are getting closer to waging war on humanity, but in order to do that they must destroy Ellie's soul so that she cannot be reborn to protect the human race once more.
Angelfire is a great read for anyone who wants an action packed supernatural read. The mythology in Angelfire is centered on angels; one that Moulton has carefully crafted and explained. The main character of Ellie is strong but flawed: since she cannot remember her true nature, Ellie does have a hard time becoming a true warrior. However, the battles that she endures in the book and the way she handles not knowing her true self make her a very relate-able character. Ellie is a character that is molded after the Buffy type: a strong, kick-butt female who struggles with what it takes to stay strong with also wanting to be a normal teenage girl. She also has a funny, surly attitude that gives this novel a humorous undertone (much like Buffy).
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
If you are a fan of the shows The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle, then you know as well as I do that this week is their "mid-season finale". Never heard of a mid-season finale? Neither have I! Apparently, after this week there will not be any new shows airing for The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle until January 2012.
So, what do we do in the meantime? Well, you can catch up on past seasons of The Vampire Diaries by checking them out at the Library. Or you can also pick up the books that the two shows were based on. That is my plan! I am such a fan of the TV shows, but I have not yet read any of the original L.J. Smith novels. I am dying to know how they differ from the show, and I am also curious if there is anything in the book that the TV shows haven't covered yet--this may not be true for The Vampire Diaries, but I think I can get some kind of preview if I read The Secret Circle series. Click here to find the first book in The Vampire Diaries series and click here to find the first book in The Secret Circle series.
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
Here are some more paranormal romances that might pique your interest and pluck on your heart strings -
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Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr -Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance.
Evermore by Alyson Noël-Since the car accident that claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras and hear people's thoughts, and she goes out of her way to hide from other people until she meets Damen, another psychic teenager who is hiding even more mysteries.
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by Amber Kizer
Meridian is a half human, half-angel. Otherwise known as a fenestra, Meridian's life has been nothing but sickness and death. This is because Meridian helps souls travel to the other side, however, when a soul tries to use her to transition it causes her to have a violent reaction leaving her sick for days. On her 16th birthday, her parents finally reveal to Meridian her true nature. On the day that she learns this truth, her parents hastily send her to her Aunt's home in Revelation, CO. Meridian not only needs to learn how to properly transition souls from her Aunt who is also a fenestra, but she needs to leave her loved ones in order to keep them safe. Someone, or something, is on the hunt for fenestras and will not stop until it can destroy or turn a fenestra to the dark side. Can Meridian learn how to properly transition souls, and gain her strength to fight this dark force, before it is too late?
This book was a great read. It was quick paced, and the angel/fenestra mythology presented was easy to follow. Even though she has a supernatural power, Meridian is a character that is easy to relate to. There was a romance sub-plot that felt like it was just thrown into the larger plot, but it worked in the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of supernatural reads, or someone who is looking for something quick and exciting to read.
posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian
Last Updated On December 8, 2008
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