Girl of Nightmares
by Kendare Blake
I LOVED Anna Dressed in Blood so I was pretty excited to read the sequel. I was a little disappointed in this one but I honestly think I was secretly hoping I was going to get a lot more Anna and Cas togetherness since they were such a great paranormal couple! If you liked the first Anna book then you should definitely read this one. It does a good job tying up many loose ends plus give some closure to the events that happened with Anna and Cas. I'm really looking forward to reading more by Kendare Blake! She is great!
Tiger Lily
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Peter Pan has always been one of my favourite classic children's stories; I'm a sucker for the boy who just wouldn't grow up. When I heard that Anderson had written a story about Tiger Lily, an interesting character who we never really hear much about, I was intrigued. This was a very moving story about first love and growing up and moving on. It put a really interesting spin on the world of Neverland, especially since it expanded on many things form the original novel that were barely touched upon.
The Madman's Daughter
by Megan Shepherd
I had been looking forward to this one for some time since it starting getting buzz late last year. This is a retelling of H.G. Well's The Island of Dr. Moreau and it does a really great job of it! Gothic, dark, and spooky, this first in a trilogy was excellent! From London to a deserted island, we follow our heroine, Juliet Moreau, and she tried to find out the truth about her father and his rumored experiments. Throw in a couple love interests (a boy from childhood and a castaway), this is a great new voice in teen fiction and a fun new series!
The Paris Wife
by Paula McLain
This is the book that everyone came into my bookshop asking for since their book club was reading it. I haven't read much Hemingway myself nor did I have a particular interest in the man so it hadn't been one that I picked up. However, I gave in to peer pressure ('It's so good!', 'A must for historical fiction fans!') and while I enjoyed parts of it, the strongest emotion that I was left with was pure dislike of Hemingway. I really enjoyed reading about life in Paris in the 1920's, especially all the cameo's from the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda. By the time I finished the novel, however, all I could really take away from it was that Hemingway was not a good husband or a very nice person, despite being a literary treasure. I'm glad I read it but this was not my favourite.
Anya's Ghost
by Vera Brosgol
If you liked Neil Gaiman's Coraline, then you need to read this graphic novel! Such a fun read and seriously creepy at times! If you have a couple hours to spare, then do yourself a favour and get lost in this story of a girl and her ghost bff.
Defending Jacob
by William Landay
If you are looking for a good read to take on holiday, you should take this one! A legal thriller, it asks the question of what would a parent do to prove their child's innocent, not just to the public, but to themselves as well. A thrilling ride, it had one of those ending that caught me completely off guard and had me thinking about it long after I turned the last page. This was on many lists of best mysteries of 2012 and it is very worthy.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8
by Joss Whedon (and others)
I just finished an extreme Buffy marathon a few weeks back where over the last few months I had watched all 7 seasons of the iconic show. I just the snappy dialogue, excellent action, and cry worthy love stories. After the show ended, Whedon decided to continue on in graphic novel form and thus created the Season 8 series which takes place right after the last episode of the tv show. If you are a Buffy fan then this is a must read; it's a no brainer. It captures all the elements that made the show great and expands on characters and story lines so perfectly. With lots of twists and turns, this 8 book series really does give you the feeling that you are making your way through a season of the show. Now on to Season 9!
