I ordered Hush, Hush for myself to read over the Christmas holiday, but flew through it in 24 hours. 

Summary from Becca Fitzpatrick’s website:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

This is one of the first books that I’ve read and kept thinking about after I read it in a long time.  There have been a lot of books that I’ve enjoyed lately, but nothing that’s really stayed with me.  I’m hooked on Patch, I can’t help it.  I mean, his name is Patch.  That just oozes sexy.

I thought the sexual tension between Nora and Patch was well executed and there weren’t any huge plot holes that I noticed (though with my speed read of it, I might have missed something).  I liked the play on the love-hate relationship weaved in this story because it was never pure disdain, even from the beginning.  Patch’s stalkerness (work with me on my invented vocabulary) was kind of weird, but taken in context with the story, it makes sense.

I do wish that I felt their relationship was based on more than physical attraction, though I know that it was supposed to, it just didn’t come across as clearly as I’m sure the author intended.  I wanted to know why Patch loved her, not just accept it at face value.  What made her different?

Hush, Hush gets:

4/5 Dancing Santas (because face it — dancing Santas are awesome)

When I picked up my son’s meds yesterday, I picked up the first book in the Blue Bloods series. 

Summary for Melissa De La Cruz’s website:

Within New York City’s most elite families, there lurks a secret society of celebrated Americans whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. They are the powerful and the wealthy—and in fact, they are not human. They are the Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires.

Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City 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.

But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler’s life changes dramatically. She has a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl from Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest off all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.

Schuyler wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

Honestly, I’m underwhelmed.  I wanted to love it and honestly, after I made it through the pages and pages of info dump, I did like it, but I’m just kind of luke warm on it as a whole.

I do want to read the rest because I’m intrigued enough with the plot line, but literally half of the book was:

She was wearing this…

This is…

He looked like…

She was…

It just dragged and dragged.  But once I drudged through that, I liked the story well enough. 

I still feel there wasn’t enough character development.  I don’t feel connected to any one character and I’m not really rooting for anyone in the romantic sense, even though that was a subplot throughout the novel.  But the novel does have redeeming qualities in that it leaves you wondering where the story is going to go, who the real villian is, etc.  I’m sure I will read the rest, but I’m not jumping out of my seat about it or anything.

Blue Bloods gets:

2.5/5 Candy Canes (because Christmas is awesome)

I always loved reading and sprinted like a mad person when we had the chance to go to the library. I starting thinking last night about some of my favorites and decided to compile a little listy-loo. No, most of these aren’t Shakespeare, but I loved them :) Listed in no particular order:

1. The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

I checked this book out more times than I can count.  It just captured my third grade imagination and I loved it.  Mary Downing Hahn actually came to my little sister’s elementary school and she got it autographed for me.  It’s sitting on my bookshelf in my classroom because I love showing it to my third graders now.

2.  Fear Street Series by R.L. Stine

I loved all of these books when I was in Jr. High school.  I never really got into the Goosebumps, but my students now like them, so I’ve got quite a few in my classroom library.  They just had a great sense of mystery and I was all into that back in the day. :)

 3.  The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Teeny toy Indians come to life.  ‘Nuff said.

4.  Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

This little book of poetry got checked out more times than any book I’ve seen when I was younger.  It was a staple in the classroom and I was super quick to get a copy for mine when I became a teacher.  It’s a mixture of funny, rhymes, and everything children’s poetry should be. 

5.  Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher

Loved, loved, loved this book!!  I laughed out loud at it’s quirky stories about a school that was built straight up instead of one level, like it was supposed to be.  The tales of the crazy teachers and weird kids was still relatable and fun.  If you haven’t read this one, you really should.

Other favorites:

Sarah, Plain, and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

Babysitter’s Club by Ann Martin  <—Totally made kid-kits to take with me babysitting because of these.

What are some of your favorites?

One of the teachers I work with (yes, you Amanda K.) has been bugging the crap out of me to read the Vampire Academy series, so after finishing the Sookie Stackhouse novels and Evernight (I’m on a vampire kick, apparantly), I started this series.

Summary from Richelle Mead’s website:

Two races of vampires walk our world. The Moroi are alive and wield elemental magical, while the Strigoi are undead and evil–feeding on the innocent to survive. Rose Hathaway–a half-vampire with poor impulse control–is training to be a bodyguard for a Moroi princess. Learning to decapitate and stake is hard enough, but Rose’s real danger may lie in an illicit romance with one of her instructors…

I really liked the first one and it drew me in (I’ve actually finished the second one already and started the third).  The reason I liked it so well was that it focuses on the growth of Rose and you can really see her change and mature as the book progresses.  It also focuses on the relationships of the students, but not so much that it reads like a romance novel.  It definitely has the right amount of sexual tension that makes a great read, though.  I did notice at least two glaring typos, which drove me nuts, but that is more of a reflection on the copy editors and not the author. 

In my non-professional opinion, I would definitely suggest this series.  It’s one of those that I can’t wait to get home and keep reading to see what happens.

Vampire Academy gets:

4/5 Cupcakes (because I love me some cupcakes)

I know that you all hang on my every word and just wait for me to utter, “Read this book my little minions.  Obey your leader.”  Because I am a super cool goddess like that.  Or not.

Either way, I’m going to post reviews of the books I read as I go.  Right now, I’m in the midst of YA stuff, but I’m not going to limit it to that. 

I went Targeting the other day (which is seriously like therapy – love that place) and this cover caught my eye.  I realized that the author is a poster on a website that I visit, so I thought, what the heck, I’ll try it out (it looked right up my alley).

The summary from Claudia Gray’s website:

When the story begins in Evernight, Bianca has just left the small town where she’s spent her whole life. She’s a new student at Evernight Academy, a creepily Gothic boarding school where her classmates are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.

Then she meets Lucas, another loner, who seems fiercely determined not to be the “Evernight type.” There’s a connection between Bianca and Lucas that can’t be denied. She would risk anything to be with him—but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart… and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed to be true.

I liked it!  I didn’t expect the twist and thought it was a fun play on what is currently popular.  I do wish there had been a bit more kick booty-ness, but since it is a series, I feel like there will be more. 

This book is definitely geared to the female market, in my opinion.  I think guys would like it (my brother-in-law is about to start it, so I’m excited to see what he thinks), but would miss the action that I did as well.

I thought the characters were relatable, which is one of the most important parts of a book in this genre, I feel.  Were there some places where I thought there could have been more character building?  Sure, but I flew through it and enjoyed it just the same.  I can’t wait to get the second! 

Evernight gets:

3.5/5 Milka bars (because they are delicious)