Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

This is the second book in The Caster Chronicles. To see my review of the first, click here.

I loved Beautiful Creatures, and the sequel is even better! I like the new characters and you learn more about characters that lingered in the background of the first book, and it's much more exciting and fast-paced than Beautiful Creatures.  If you liked Beautiful Creatures, I would definitely recommend to continue the series.  Now I have to get my hands on the third book in the series, Beautiful Chaos! 

Summary (from GoodReads):
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

~~~

The Caster Chronicles
BOOK ONE: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
BOOK TWO: BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS
BOOK THREE: BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
BOOK FOUR: BEAUTIFUL REDEMPTION

~~~

~thespectacularbookworm

Teen Angst? Naaah... by Ned Vizzini

This book was really fun to read. It's full of short stories from Ned Vizzini's teenage years, and they're all very relatable stories.  This is a really good book if you're looking for a light, comedic YA read.  I really enjoyed this book.

Summary (from GoodReads): 

“The events in these stories are real. Some names have been changed so I don’t get yelled at.” —Ned Vizzini
 
Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny, and sometimes mortifying moments that made up his teen years. With wit, irony, and honesty, Teen Angst? Naaah . . .  invites you into Ned’s world of school, parents, cool (and almost cool), street people, rock bands, friends, fame, camp, Cancún (almost), prom, beer, video games, and more.

~thespectacularbookworm

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

This book has been hyped up and so I was excited when I grabbed this book off of the library shelf.  I finished it in two days and sadly, I was disappointed. The characters seemed kind of flat to me and I've read other books that followed the same basic (and kind of boring) plotline.  It was a cute book overall, but I wouldn't recommend this. 

Summary (from GoodReads):
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

~~~

~thespectacularbookworm

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I heard of this series a couple years ago, and I regret not having picked it up until now.  It was a really thrilling book and it was fun to read!  I liked how many characters were very mysterious--it made you want to keep reading and not put the book down until you've finished!  I recommend this to fans of YA fiction, fantasy, Harry Potter fans, Twilight fans, or really anyone who likes an addictive series.

Summary (from GoodReads):
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

~~~

Plus there's a movie of Beautiful Creatures coming to theatres February 13th, 2013! Watch the trailer here (this trailer contains minor spoilers!):

~~~

The Caster Chronicles

BOOK ONE: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

BOOK TWO: BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS
BOOK THREE: BEAUTIFUL CHAOS
BOOK FOUR: BEAUTIFUL REDEMPTION

~~~

~thespectacularbookworm

Every Day by David Levithan

I loved this book completely.  The characters were real, and it was so interesting to see the different lives that A experiences throughout the book.  This book kept me intrigued, and not once did I find myself at a dull part because the whole book is interesting!  It was very well-written and I'm planning on reading some other books by David Levithan.  This book was amazing and I definitely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of YA fiction.

Summary (from GoodReads):
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan, bestselling co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

~~~

You should definitely read this!

~thespectacularbookworm

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I think the title and cover of this book kind of throws you off.  This book looks like a no-good cheesy romance, but this book is actually very good--full of quirky but three-dimensional characters, comedy, a cute romance, and it's just fun to read overall.  At first I didn't want to read this book, but a lot of people were saying this book was amazing.  Finally I gave in and picked it up, and was pleasantly surprised.  If you want to read a good YA realistic fiction romance, pick this one up!

Summary (from GoodReads):
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

~~~

~thespectacularbookworm

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

This is the second book of the Mara Dyer series. See my review of the first here!

Everything that was amazing in the first book is in the sequel--and more! This book was full of mystery and so much suspense.  There were constant twists that kept me at the edge of my seat and completely awed. You get to know Mara and Noah better in this one, and it ends with a big cliffhanger, as the first book did.  Overall, this book was fantastic and very fun to read. It's 544 pages long, but it doesn't feel like that when you're reading it.  The book is such a rush, and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. 

If you haven't read The Unbecoming, I'd recommend you read it if you love mystery, suspense, psychological thrillers, and/or amazing YA novels.

Summary (from GoodReads):

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.
She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.
They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.
She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

~~~

~thespectacularbookworm