The Year of Secret Assignments - Jaclyn Moriarty

I'm content with losing - Underoath

Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin

When the sun Sleeps - Underoath

Vampires, werewolves, pixies, faeries, zombies, wizards, ghosts, angels, demons, shifters, mermaids, and now dragons. What else haven't I cover?

Firelight is my first book about dragons (well, if you don't count the dragons I read about in Harry Potter) and now I can add Drakis to my list of favourite mythical creatures.

Jacinda Jones is a Draki, being the first fire-breather in her pride which dragon trait was thought to be extremely rare and nearly extinct, the elders had made plans for her entire life without her even knowing it. After an incident where Jacinda had broken her pride's most sacred tenet, her mother, along with her human twin sister decided to bust the whole family out and start anew in the middle of a desert, hiding in an exposed space where dragons have no place to conceal themselves.

But her mum's decision was killing Jacinda in the inside. By burying her Draki side, Jacinda will also bury a part of her, the only part of her that was real. Jacinda was miserable, she was trapped, she wanted to escape but obligations tied her down. So what if her only key was Will Rutledge? A guy with a handsome face? A guy who made her felt alive again? The boy who revived her Draki side, made her heart race? And also the boy who happens to be a dragon hunter ?

I had my fair share of forbidden romance, from Edward and Bella in Twilight to Patch and Nora in Hush Hush, and it all ended up with me obsessing over fictional characters. Will I call the relationship between Will and Jacinda forbidden? Obviously. But I rather call them an ironic couple. A dragon hunter and a Draki, and in this book, humans actually has the upper hand.

Firelight was amazing, not only because it was my first time reading about dragons (I felt like a kid first time being in Disneyland) but the writing kept me at the edge of my seat. The characters portrayed were also easy to relate to. From a forced-to-do-things-I-don't-want-to-do Will, to I'm-stuck-I-can't-get-out Jacinda and to I-just-want-to-fit-in Tamra, the story was all about teenage rebellion and feelings with a fictionalised twist. And the book wouldn't be complete without a few dramas.

+1 for the forbidden romance between Will and Jacinda. I like that Will was not entirely oblivious to the existence of dragons (and that means his not just some random, clueless, mundane human) ; and that Jacinda was torn between approaching him and staying away from him.

+1 for the idea of having a third wheel. Cassian, the alpha Draki from Jacinda's pride was described as selfish and prideful, yet he was both Jacinda and Tamra's best friend before they manifested. The relationship between Cassian and Jacinda seemed more like an arranged marriage to me, and the fact that Cassian is also a draki made the story more interesting, I am sometimes bored reading about werewolves becoming the third party.

+1 for the family drama. Jacinda loved her family, but her mother was tyring to bury her Draki, and she couldn't be happy enough for her sister without thinking about herself. Bittersweet family.

+1 for the sadistic Rutledge hunters. Apart from Will, Jordan managed a great job in portraying the Rutledge 'clan' as cruel hunters, it was very convincing, especially Xander ~shudders~

I've heard many great things about this book and I'm pleased to say that it did not disappoint me. So, if you are looking for a fiery night, don't hesitate to grab Firelight!

Second book of the series, Vanish was released in September 6th 2011.

I was hesitant to start The Oracle Rebound because of what I assumed from the blurb. (And  I lost my interest in writing a review for the first book)  As I was hung up on Jared and Kayla's relationship, it was definitely a depressing moment when I found out that they were going their separate ways, and honestly, the book lost it's spark to me. I can't do this. Feeling heartbroken.

But to my utter surprise, I finished it in merely two hours, I guess some of the Oracle's advice got to me, Kayla taught me to look deeper.

If the first book got you hooked, the second book got you rooted. I got the best dating advices from a story book! This book relates well to teenagers because the protagonist herself is a teen who deals with her own problems, and that she's growing each day. I had fun reading The Oracle of Dating series because the characters themselves are just vibrant, and we get to read about diversed characters.

Main character : Kayla / The Oracle
Love Interest : Jared, Benoit
Friends : Amy, Ryan, Sharese, Viv
Parents : Erland, Mum
Sister : Tracey (probably one of my favourite characters in the story)

I was un-depressed by the end of this book so that must have meant something right? I see no reason why I would give this book a bad review, especially when it is one of the best YA chick lit I ever read. I definitely had a newfound respect for the author (I was not quite impressed with her work on The Vampire Stalker, I guess I was just expecting more from it, after all it was a reader's dream come true). Friendship, romance, family, I got myself a premium pack here, what else could I ask for?

What if the only thing that separates you from being human, is when you were born at midnight?

Kylie Galen had the worst day of her life, her parents announced that they were getting a divorce, her nana was still dead, her boyfriend broke up with her and she was caught in a high school party filled with booze. To make matters worse, Soldier Dude was back, and he was the reason why Kylie had been seeing a shrink, because, well, a normal human were not supposed to see ghosts, right?

When her mother found out about the party, Kylie found herself on a bus heading towards Camp Shadow Falls, a camp for juvenile delinquents, or so she thought. Soon enough, she will discover that not only Camp Shadow Falls was peculiar, from the girl who was too pale to the boy with gold flecks in his eyes ,they all shared something in common.

They were all born at midnight.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

After reading too many paranormal/fiction novels, some ideas tend to get boring after a while. The usual vampire vs werewolves drama was getting pretty old, not to mention the overrated forbidden relationship between a mundane human and a monster (though I can't help but keep falling in love with them), Born at Midnight was a breath of fresh air! And now I can look at the paranormal section of the bookstore with much more enthusiasm, in hopes of searching for something alike, or entirely new.

I would summarize Born at Midnight with these three words : pageturner , laughed-over, swoon worthy.

For those of you who are not familiar with the book, Born at Midnight tells the story of Kylie's quest of self-discovery in a camp of Midnight-borns - mythical creatures.

Pageturner  - Everything about this book screamed 'Turn the page!', if you like an independent girl character then you would certainly enjoy the story as the author narrated Kylie perfectly.

Laughed-over - Every great book must have great humour, and it's clear that Born at Midnight does not lack in this field. The characters in the story might be mysterious, alluring, sexy and flirty, but they do not lack humour, and that was one of the reason why I fell in love with this book. Della and Martina, one a vampire, one a witch fast became Kylie's best friends in camp, their constant bickering might piss Kylie off, but it was the most hillarious part of  the book. If you think human arguing is interesting, dose yourself with supernatural bickering, you might just love it.

Swoon worthy : Being a girly teenager, a book is not complete without hot guys. Trey, Kylie's ex boyfriend broke up with her before she went off to camp. And when Kylie arrived at Shadow Fall's camp, she found herself attracted to half-fae Derek and werewolf-Lucas, who happened to be her former neighbour! Suddenly, she was involved in a messy love web, Trey wanted her back, she is still not sure of Derek, and she kissed the hot Lucas. Love web, my kind of story.

C.C Hunter's debut novel definitely carved a great impression in my mind, I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

Awake at Dawn was released at October 11 2011.

I never put down a Jennifer Echol's book before, so I guess that proved how much I admire her writing and her stories. Going too far was the first Jennifer Echol's novel I've read, and I couldn't stop reading that night, even if it cost me my sleep. And with Love story? I don't think I could sleep at all. It was worth the sacrifice though, can you believe that I stayed up till 5.30am just to finish it?

Despite the cliche title (which Erin, the main female protagonist thought so as well), it was an emotional and 'deep' read. Erin, a former rich girl was suddenly poor when she defied her wealthy grandmother in taking business major and took up creative writing instead. Since then, her grandmother had invested all her money on Hunter Allen, the stable boy who worked in her horse farm in Kentucky in hopes that he could take over Erin's place in looking after her farm. However, Hunter Allen is Erin's first love, and that did not help when he was a poor boy turned rich and is apparently attending the same college as she is in New York, and here's the thing, they are both in the same Creative Writing class.

Love story is a breath of fresh air. I had my share of typical high school romance (still I fall for them) and some jaw dropping ones but when it comes to Love Story, I am clueless in where I should categorize this sort of 'romance'. The romance between Erin and Hunter is partly passionate, longing, grudgeful, understanding,  let's just say a whole lot of complicated. I felt deeply connected to Erin and Hunter, and I felt the joy and sorrow and grudge that they held for each other, the emotions are so vivid!

Another thing that I admire about this book is that Jennifer had managed to capture the point of view of a writer perfectly, I know that any author could do so too because they are writers themselves, and just retelling their point of view in the words of a character, however it was quite different with Erin. And I quite enjoy 'participating' in their creative writing class too! I don't know how these classes go (considering I'd never been to one) but it definitely captured my interest and I think I'm going to apply for one in college. My point is, I think it's really creative that the characters uses writing as a way to express their feelings (particularly Hunter and Erin, which is very obvious in doing so) and it's the very first time that I read a book through the eyes of a character-writer. And I agree on one point, writers do read more into things.

The characters are lovable, I am normally annoyed with female protagonists who gets jealous easily and always go on and on about her dream guy, but I like Erin, I think she's strong and independent, and brave to defy her grandmother (who plays a big role in her income). Though I do occasionally roll my eyes at her for being rude :P As for Hunter, he is a nice guy with a lot to hide, I get his shame, his anger, and his love, and his rudeness too. See, they are meant to be! Yet, there is a part which I am quite unsure of. I couldn't seem to grasp the relationship between Erin and her grandmother. Erin doesn't hate her, but avoided her at any cost. Her grandmother disowned her, but still looked out for her in an odd twisted way (not going to give out spoilers). So, what's the deal?

So I finished my rant and to conclude this:

Read Love story. It's one of her best work.

Hunter - Colton Haynes.