Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

I just loved this book! It's a blend of chick-lit, cozy mystery, paranormal, and romance all together - and it works beautifully!

The Valentine family has run a successful matchmaking business for generations (turns out, they can see auras!) - but Lucy lost her aura-seeing gift at 14 in an electrical accident. But what she gained was an ability to find lost objects.

When she has to fill in for her father in the matchmaking business while he "vacations," she finds a dead body, a new love, and an appreciation for her family's business and her own special talent.

With a compelling plot and great writing, this book was almost impossible to put down.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I have to admit I spent most of the day today finishing this book (shhhh don't tell my husband! I was supposed to be taking the Christmas stuff down!).

I loved it! I loved the writing - kept the pages turning. I loved Thomas and Newt and Teresa, and the others. I loved the concept which is:

Thomas "wakes" up in an elevator type lift and is pulled into the "glade" - a large area surrounded by walls, full of other boys around his age, and all of them suffering memory loss - he has no idea of any of his history, his last name, or why he's there.

What follows is lots of intrigue - why are they there, what is the Maze really?

This is the first book in a trilogy, and I absolutely can't wait for the next one!!

The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

Rebecca's life is comfortable but unfulfilling - she doesn't like her job as a paralegal doing divorce mediation and she's more scared than excited about the idea of her boyfriend proposing. But when her father dies after an astounding deathbed confession, her life is profoundly changed.

Her father tells her he had an affair, and that it resulted in a child. Rebecca, realizing that she has a sister, heads out to find her last remaining family member.

Joy has grown up without a father, and isn't as welcoming as Rebecca would like, but Rebecca is determined.

Overall, the book brought up a lot of questions - most specifically "what makes a man cheat?" And what makes a family? And how do you know when a relationship is over or when to try harder?

I really enjoyed this book, and definitely recommend it. Melissa Senate is one of my favorite writers, and I look forward to more from her!

Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

Funny, funny, funny!

I have over time become a huge fan of Jen Lancaster. Her humor is definitely sarcastic and may not be for everyone, but it's definitely worth a try.

In this book, she details her life through school and her early jobs - revisiting the 80s - how fun!

Laugh out loud parts? Oh yeah.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

A haunting novel about a young girl, Grace, who is in love with a werewolf, Sam. As a child, Grace was attacked by wolves and Sam saved her. Over the years, she would watch for "her wolf" in the woods behind her house. Finally, she meets Sam in his human form, and they fall in love - and must try to find a way to keep him from turning back into a wolf forever.

The tension builds as the book progresses - the temperature is dropping, friends are at risk, and time is running out for Sam.

I definitely recommend this book - a notch above some of the usual YA fare.

Watch for the next book in this series - Linger, coming in July 2010!

4 stars

Intertwined (Harlequin Teen) by Gena Showalter

Normally, I adore Gena Showalter books, but I have to say that I didn't love this one.

The good: Like her other books, this one is extremely readable. Great characters and realistic dialog make it easy to keep reading page after page. The story is intriguing - a boy who has four other souls living inside him. He's lived with this group his whole life, and has some interesting "powers" - time travel, raising the dead, seeing the future.

The bad: Too many pieces to the story. This is a big book - almost 500 pages. And just Aden's history could fill it. Instead, we are introduced to Aden and his history, Mary Ann and hers, Riley and Victoria. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches... Time travelers, zombies.

And this is obviously just the first book in a series - it is left with far more hanging than was resolved. And while I'm curious to see how things progress, I'm not sure I'm willing to invest the time and energy into it.

Probably, though, I will - I love Gena Showalter and will most likely get my hands on the next one as soon as it's out - which is September 2010 and it is titled Unraveled.