Vampire Academy

In the new brilliant tradition of teen vampire novels, I give you Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

This one stars two girls, Lissa, a vampire princess, and Rose, her half-human/half-vampire bodyguard.

It's an odd story, but really easy to get into. Much like the Blue Blood series, there are good vampires and bad vampires. Good vampires also have a certain magic they can tap into.

But Lissa and Rose ran away from the school that was supposed to keep them safe, only to be brought back. Lissa is doing her best to survive (high school sucks even if you are a princess), and Rose is training to make sure that she can protect Lissa.

Never mind the new girl who has it in for Lissa, or Lissa's rather odd talent. And Rose's terrible temper.

Oh, and did I mention the dead animals everywhere?

Right. It's a good book, fun read. I liked it.

And yes, it's the first in a series.

Homeport

Homeport is an older Nora Roberts book.

It stars Dr. Miranda Jones, a...well, she does something with verifying dates on old pieces of art, and Ryan Boldari (great names, both of them), an art gallery owner and gentleman burglar.

Miranda is an uptight, cautious woman who only believes in science. When she's called to Italy by her mother to authenticate a bronze statue, she believes she's found an undocumented Michelangelo.

Somehow, the press finds out, and the piece is transferred to another facility. She's sent home to Maine in shame, only to be robbed (you'll never guess by who...).

When the small bronze statue that was taken from the museum Miranda works at is found to be a fraud, Miranda and Ryan have to work together to find out who hates Miranda so much that they would kill 3 people and steal priceless works.

It's a fun romp, seeing Miranda and Ryan get together. She's so...anti-everything unorganized, and he...well, he's a second story man. Going with the flow is essential.

Also, I really like Andrew, Miranda's brother. Yeah, he's an alcoholic, but he's trying so hard to get over it! That doesn't mean that I support him looking to Annie as his savior, but he's trying. Which is important too.

Good story line. I remember not being able to figure out who it was the first time, and even forgetting the second.

This is way past the second time I've read it, so I'm sitting here reading it going, "I know who did it! I know who did it!"

But can I mention that it drives me crazy that the killer has to be crazy? It makes me sad.

Oh, and the kind of ick factor when you finally find out who it is? Big time shudder.

The Spellman Files

Ok, so I heard about this one from my mother. The Spellman Files is the first of the series by Lisa Lutz. Curse of the Spellmans is second, and the third is coming out next March (Revenge of the Spellmans).

Let me just tell you...hilarious. So funny.

It's about a family (the Spellmans) who are PI's. Well, all of them except David.

Let me explain. There's Olivia, the mother who hates dentists (for good reason). Al is the ex-policeman-turned-PI. David is their oldest son, and he's "perfect" who's a lawyer. Isabel (out heroine and the one who tells the story) is the "problem child" who didn't attend college but stayed with the family business. Rae is the youngest, and the product of having two much older siblings. There's also Uncle Ray, who's an unabashed nut and addictive...well, everything.

Anyway, it's so funny. Izzy starts dating a dentist (and, I know he's Guatemalan, but when he says he's a dentist, I always think of the elf from Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer), but she tells him she's a schoolteacher. Not a PI.

And such follows the madness of the wars between Ray and Rae, between Izzy and her parents, between Izzy and Rae, and watching David pay off his little sister.

Until, that is, Izzy gets caught up in a 12 year old missing persons case, and Rae goes missing.

Then they meet Inspector Henry Stone.

Did I mention some of Izzy's odd character flaws? She's addicted to old episodes of "Get Smart" (I'm wondering how she felt about the movie...), keeps track of her ex-boyfriends by listing their names, their professions, and what their last words are. Oh, and she prefers to enter by a window instead of by the door.

Numbers 6 and 9 need explained, but it's funny.

Oh, and privacy? Completely overrated in other people, but utterly necessary in your private life. Without it, madness occurs.

Smoke Screen

Smoke Screen is the latest novel by Sandra Brown.

As with all Sandra Brown novels, you can’t trust anyone, except of course the one you’re falling in love with. Don’t mean to be rude, but that’s how it always works.

Anyway, in this one, Britt Shelley, a TV reporter, wakes up next to a dead man, Jay. When she can’t remember the night before, or how he ended up dead, things take a dark turn. She’s accused of killing him, but before she can be arrested, is kidnapped by Raley Gannon.

Gannon tells her his story of waking up next to a dead girl after a party at Jay’s house, with a lot of similarities, they agree to go hunting together to find out just what happened.

As usual, there are a million twists and turns that no one saw coming. From the party-boy who just wanted to clean his conscience, to the Attorney General who may or may not have played a part in the cover up, you’re never quite sure what Sandra is going to throw at you. But I liked this one.

Identical

Why I expect any Ellen Hopkins novel to be rather straight forward is absolutely beyond me, at this point.

I know, after reading all of her books, that there's going to be a major twist. And I mean major.

I just finished her latest, Identical, about twin girls who are living in the wake of a brutal crash. We know that someone didn't make it, but we don't know who.

Kaeleigh is "the good girl." She dresses well, doesn't smoke, doesn't sleep around, but is also quiet and keeps to herself. Her only friend is Ian.

Raeanne is "the bad girl." She sleeps around, does drugs, causes trouble, and has no real friends either.

It's what's below the surface of their Normal Rockwell lives that is disturbing.

The truth behind the accident, behind their grandparents, about what goes on behind closed doors with their father.

Ellen Hopkins is not your average writer. Stylistically, she doesn't write like anyone else. Instead of paragraphs, chapters, and the usual, she writes in the form of poetry.

It's something I found appealing from the very beginning.