Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

Schuyler Van Alen has discovered her Blue Blood legacy and must now come to terms with her powers.  Hoping to unearth the identity of the Silver Blood who is killing young Blue Bloods, Schuyler and her best friend, Oliver, travel to Venice in search of Schuyler's long-lost grandfather.  Back in NYC, preparations are underway for the Four Hundred Ball.  At the ball, a mysterious new Blue Blood appears.  He's hot and sexy and flirts with Mimi, Bliss, and Schuyler.  Does he have ulterior motives?  And what does his appearance mean for Schuyler...and Jack?

I had a great time reading Masquerade.  I loved every minute, and didn't want it to end.  My questions about Mimi and Jack's bond were answered, and I liked that Schuyler finally had her eyes opened to Oliver's true feelings for her.  Nothing wrong with a love triangle, right?  I'm rooting for Jack, but I like Oliver so much.  (And how crazy is it that even though I loathe Mimi and really want Jack and Schuyler to be together, there's a part of me that feels sorry for Mimi because she loves Jack so much.  And he loves Mimi just as fully, but he can't fight his connection with Schuyler.  The whole thing is completely messed up, yet it works.)  The New Guy, Kingsley, is mysterious and creepy.  And that ending...did NOT see that coming!

I am SO looking forward to the next book.  Good thing I have it waiting right here!

My rating: 4/5

Masquerade is #2 in the Blue Bloods series.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Safe Haven is the 92nd book I've read this year.  Out of curiosity, I decided to check my stats from last year to see where I was at the end of September 2009.  Funnily enough, at the end of last September, I'd also made it through 92 books, with The Last Song, another Nicholas Sparks book, listed as my 92nd read.  (I actually wrote this review a couple of days ago, but didn't post it until tonight.  I managed to get a 93rd book in today.  Review coming up.)

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

Safe Haven dealt with a very difficult subject matter and was quite difficult to read at times.  I wanted to like it more than I did, because I've really enjoyed the last two or three Nicholas Sparks books that have been released.  This one was good, but I wasn't as emotionally involved as I usually am.  I didn't even cry, which is surprising because Nicholas Sparks books are (almost always) guaranteed tearjerkers.  I did like the characters, though (Sparks' development of Kevin was incredible), and the small-town feel of the book.

By the way, I had "Jo" figured out from the very beginning.

My rating: 3.5/5

Top 10 Literary Crushes, Vol. 3

So my sister, Beth, and I were talking last week and she said I should update my literary crush list again.  The last time I updated my list was almost exactly one year ago, when it looked like this:

1. Edward Cullen, the Twilight saga
2. Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (Have I already mentioned that I adore him? I have?)
3. Prince Po, Graceling by Kristin Cashore (just thinking about his gold and silver eyes makes me melt!)
4. Max Pesaro, The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason
5. Miach of Neroche, The Nine Kingdoms series by Lynn Kurland
6. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
7. Rhys de Piaget and Robin de Piaget (or any de Piaget male for that matter!), Lynn Kurland books
8. Gilbert Blythe, Anne of Green Gables
9. Joshua Steed, The Work and the Glory series by Gerald N. Lund
10. Luke Brandon, Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella

Not a bad list, but I definitely have some different names to add this year.  I'm always thrilled when an author can make me fall for one of his/her characters!
 
So, without further ado, I introduce to you my "Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With If I Were Single and They Were Real But I'm Not, Single I Mean; I Am Real -- But I'm Also Happily Married and Want To Stay That Way, So Maybe We Should Forget This..."  (volume 3)

1. Edward Cullen...always and forever
2. Peeta Mellark...let me clarify and say I prefer the Peeta from The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. He was so different in Mockingjay.  That said, I still adore him.
3. Max Pesaro...I will always love you, Max!
4. Dimitri Belikov, the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead...mmm, mmm good!  Can't wait for Last Sacrifice!
5. Valek, the Study series by Maria V. Snyder...love him!
6. Prince Po...gold and silver eyes.  Need I say more?
7. Prince Brigan, Fire by Kristin Cashore...both Po and Brigan are to-die-for.  Or to-sigh-for ;)
8. Miach of Neroche or any de Piaget male...such gentlemen, but so brave and studly at the same time.
9. Fitzwilliam Darcy...of course he's still on the list
10. Patch Cipriano, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick...bad boy fallen angel=hot!
 
Wow, it was much more difficult to narrow it down to 10 than I thought it would be!  Poor Mr. Darcy just keeps falling further and further down the list.  Sorry, Darcy.  I still love you.
 
Your turn, Beth. ;)
 
If you want to review my list from 2007, click here.

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.

The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner...and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead... drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn't know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

Since reading Twilight, I've come to love YA vampire stories.  While some are definitely better than others, I found myself really enjoying Blue Bloods.  While I didn't enjoy it as much as Twilight, it was still an entertaining read.  Besides all the fashion designer name-dropping, I think what most bothered me about this book was the way Schuyler and Jack Force went from I-barely-know-you to I-love-you-and-can't-live-without-you in a nanosecond.  (The same thing bothered me with Bella and Edward in the Twilight movie.  Ugh.)  Still, I find Jack captivating.  Mimi, on the other hand, drove me nuts (in a good way!), and I think there is something ominous about her.  Her relationship with Jack, her twin brother, is very strange, and I hope the next book delves further into the Force family history and expounds on the twins' relationship more fully.

I think it's interesting that the Blue Bloods are reincarnated over and over throughout eternity, and I found it fascinating that Jack thought Schuyler was the woman from his "dreams" when really it was her mother.  Can't wait to see how that all plays out!  I'm eager to read Masquerade and continue the story.  Just as soon as I read The Joy Luck Club for my family book club.
 
My rating: 3.5/5
 
Blue Bloods is #1 in the Blue Bloods series.

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

I've read all over the internet that Janette Rallison books are cute, fun reads, so when I saw a couple of them on the shelf at the library I snagged them.  Just One Wish follows seventeen-year-old Annika Truman on an adventure of a lifetime.  Knowing how much her six-year-old brother, Jeremy, who has cancer, wants a Teen Robin Hood action figure, Annika braves the crowds at Toys R Us on Black Friday to get her hands on one.  Satisfied that she's gotten Jeremy the one thing he wanted (after all, the Teen Robin Hood figure is all he's talked about for months), she tells him that she has a genie who will grant him wishes.  She's already used the first wish, but wants Jeremy to use the remaining two wishes, as long as the third wish is that his upcoming surgery goes well. When he wishes to meet Teen Robin Hood himself, Annika doesn't know what to do.  Not wanting to let Jeremy down before his big surgery, Annika leaves her home in Henderson, Nevada (outside Las Vegas) and sets out for Hollywood.  She has one objective in mind: to track down Steve Raleigh, the actor who plays Teen Robin Hood, and bring him home to meet Jeremy.

Annika's whole adventure is totally implausible, but so much fun to read about.  What teenage girl wouldn't love to roam around Hollywood and meet Teen Robin Hood?  Forget the fact that Annika's only seventeen, and that she somehow manages to finagle her way onto a TV set and convince Steve Raleigh (squeal!) to drive home with her, and enjoy the story for what it is.  Because it's pure fun.  I'm a veritable "cougar" at 30, but I wouldn't mind meeting Mr Teen Robin Hood myself. ;)

My rating: 3.5/5

Blue Moon by Alyson Noël

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever’s powers are increasing, Damen’s are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen’s past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

While Evermore introduced the characters and outlined Ever and Damen's story to a certain extent, Blue Moon filled in the missing blanks.  I more fully understood just what Summerland is, what the mysterious red elixir is that Damen is always drinking, and how the Immortals and "rogue" Immortals came to be, as well as other questions that I felt weren't answered in the first book.  Usually, I hate getting bogged down in details, but I thought the details made this second installment so much more interesting than the first.  I admit to rolling my eyes when Ever was able to get her hands on all those crazy minerals and ingredients, though: A quartz crystal bowl that's been turned to the seventh chakra; a red silk pouch embroidered by Tibetan monks; herbs planted during the new moon and tended by blind nuns in India... Come on.  All that aside, the story was better, the characters were more entertaining, and, surprisingly enough, I'm actually looking forward to continuing with this series.  (I still can't get over Ever's name, though.  Ever Bloom.  Good grief.)

My rating: 4/5

Blue Moon is #2 in The Immortals series.

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

A friend of mine read I Now Pronounce You Someone Else earlier in the week, and it sounded so cute and her review was so good that I asked if I could borrow it.  I'd been in kind of a "blah" reading mood, where nothing I picked up interested me, and a fun fluff read like this seemed just the perfect thing to pull me out of my funk.

Bronwen Oliver, the protagonist of I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, swears she isn't her mother's child.  How can she be, when her hair is brown and she hates ketchup?  She must have been switched at birth.  Yes, that's it.  And now she's determined to find her Real Family.

Jared Sondervan is an old friend of Bronwen's brother, and when they meet again the summer before Bronwen's senior year of high school, it's love at first sight for both of them.  Jared may be starting his final year of college in the fall, but he's everything Bronwen's ever wanted, and his family is everything she hoped her Real Family could be.  When Jared proposes to Bronwen on her 18th birthday, she's thrilled.  Her dream of a perfect family is coming true.  Wedding plans soon overwhelm her, but Bronwen knows what she wants.  At least she thinks she does.  Before Bronwen can determine what she really wants, she needs to determine who she is.

This book was utterly charming and delightful.  I loved the characters (especially Bronwen, Jared, and Bronwen's stepdad, Whitt) and I loved the chemistry between Bronwen and Jared.  I swooned each time Jared told Bronwen to dream of him.  As wonderful and perfect as their relationship seemed, I was pleased that Bronwen took a step back to truly consider her future, even if it meant hurting Jared.  It was important for her to know who she was before committing to such a life-changing event.  I wasn't sure whether the ending of the book would live up to the expectations I had while reading it, but it did...and, boy, was I happy!  A very fun read.

My rating: 4.25/5

Evermore by Alyson Noël

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . .

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

A friend of mine is reading this book, and she says she's having a hard time getting into it, that it seems too much like Twilight.  I had similar thoughts while reading Evermore.  It was very Twilightish, but different enough that the similarities didn't bother me.  What did bother me was Ever's friend Haven.  I couldn't stand her.  I liked both Ever and Damen, and Ever's friend, Miles, and while the story was interesting enough at first to keep me reading, by the end I was ready to be done.  The whole plotline with Ever's sister Riley didn't really pull me in; Drina, Damen's mysterious redheaded lady friend, drove me nuts; "Summerland" made me laugh. I did appreciate that Ever had a big choice to make at the end, and I'm glad she took time to think about it, but now that she's chosen to be with/like Damen, I don't know that I really care to continue with her story.  There are at least 4 more books in this series--I picked the second one, Blue Moon, up from the library today--but if I can't get into the second one, I'm not going to bother reading the rest of them.

3/5

Evermore is #1 in The Immortals series.