Rec'd romances: 'Prisoner of Night and Fog,' 'Heroic Abduction,' 'The Taking'
YA
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
I had my eye on this book since reading the premise. We have Gretchen who has grown up in the National Socialist Party and with her "uncle" Dolf. I use quotations because Dolf isn't her real uncle, since Gretchen's father sacrificed his life for Dolf's Gretchen's been Dolf's favorite … he's also Adolf Hitler. She's always followed every one of Dolf's orders, until she meets Daniel, a young Jewish reporter. It's a tough read and watching as Gretchen lives through her choices, and figuring out if she wants to choose safety or Daniel, was distressing, intense and amazing. This is only the first book in the series, but it definitely stands out in terms of typical YA fare. And Gretchen is one of the most three-dimensional heroines I've read in a while. I definitely recommend picking this one up!
Anne's top three favorite YA couples?
Anne: I adore couples in which each person is strong on his or her own. To me, there's nothing sexier than people who fall in love because they want to, not because they're desperate to find someone else to complete them. Here are a few of my favorites.
• Katsa and Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore. They're both smart, resilient, and skilled fighters — but Po's the only one who can pierce all of Katsa's defenses.
• Elliott and Kai from For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. A beautifully nuanced love story about two opposites who are better off together, although it takes them nearly the whole novel to figure it out.
• Maddie and Queenie from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. OK, these characters aren't a romantic couple, but the story of their friendship is so gripping and heartbreaking that it will leave you sobbing by the end. And reaching for the phone to call your best childhood friend.
Anne's favorite series?
• His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers. Medieval assassin nuns. Need I say more?
• The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. These books are high-octane rides filled with swoon-worthy romance and lots of snarky dialogue. Paranormal perfection.
• The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry. The quintessential dystopian series that shows us how necessary it is to experience every emotion, even the painful ones.
Top three books Anne's looking forward to reading this year?
• Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo. Bardugo's writing is gorgeous, and the intricate, bleak world she created in the first two books sucked me in completely. Plus the DARKLING!
• Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. Epic fantasy and a main character who's a chakram-wielding warrior. Sign me up!
• Sekret by Lindsay Smith. Russia during the height of the Cold War? Psychic spies working for the KGB? And a love story? Yes, please!
Epic one-liner from Prisoner of Night and Fog?
Then he cradled her face, touching her so tenderly she could scarcely breathe, and brought his face to hers until their lips met in a kiss that burned her mouth.
Sci-fi
Heroic Abduction by Eve Langlais
I love this series and was super excited to read all about Dyre. He's the hero who wants to do good, he wants to be the knight it shining armor … and it seems like the universe is making it extremely hard to do the right thing. You have to understand he comes from a family of mercenaries, and he's breaking his mother's heart. I can't put into words the epic meeting between the hero and the heroine. Betty is just awesome. Eve always writes humorous stories that have just the perfect amount of sizzle and steam in them. If you haven't read this series yet I'd definitely recommend Accidental Abduction and just eat up these purple heroes from there.
Eve's top three favorite sci-fi heroes?
• Han Solo (Star Wars). Totally hot!
• Riddick (Pitch Black and Riddick). It's the gruff voice.
• Captain Pickard (Star Trek). He knew how to command :)
Eve's top three favorite sci-fi romance series (or paranormals)?
• Star Trek. While it wasn't chock full of romance, it had enough going on to make it a drama worth watching when I was a teen.
• Vampire Diaries/The Originals. It's a soap opera, but I love the paranormal aspect.
• True Blood. Sookie might get around, but damn, who can blame her with the male cast she gets to play with? : )
Three books Eve's looking forward to in 2014?
• Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones. I am addicted to this series.
• Night's Honor, next in the Elder Races, by Thea Harrison. Love the world-building.
• The Witch With No Name by Kim Harrison. Will she ever get an HEA?!
Epic one-liner from Heroic Abduction?
"A mother can hope that the son she turned away has seen the light—and extinguished it."
YA
The Taking by Kimberly Derting
This is the first book in Kimberly's brand new series and is twisted and a bit weird (in a good way!). Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a dumpster with déjà vu and finds out it's been five years … but she's still the same age … Her boyfriend is now in college and dating her best friend, her parents are divorced and everyone has changed. Her disappearance is strange, no one can explain it and now she's attracted to her boyfriend's kid brother, who is 17 and helping her figure out just what happened to her. I loved the mystery and the second half of the book was what really had me excited for book two. The only thing that bothered me was that the romance developed very fast, even though they were friends before Kyra disappeared. Other than that this is now one of my favorite alien books. If you're looking for some mystery, some sci-fi and a bit of spice, check this one out!
Kimberly's top three book boyfriends?
• I've had a huge crush on Jace Wayland from the Mortal Instruments series F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Seeing him immortalized onscreen only sealed the deal.
• Four from Divergent. He's one of my newer book boyfriends, and it certainly didn't hurt when they cast the uber-hot Theo James to play him in the movie. Even though I'm a wimp, I would probably pick Dauntless because of him!
• Cassel Sharpe from White Cat. I know, weird, right? But here's the deal: I listened to the audio book version, which was read by Jesse Eisenberg, and there's just something about his voice. He made me fall in love with Cassel!
Kimberly's top three YA couples?
• Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy.
• Lena and Ethan from Beautiful Creatures.
• Seth and Aislinn from Wicked Lovely.
Three books Kimberly's looking forward to in 2014?
• Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Because who doesn't want more Ridley Duchannes?
• The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz. Royal courts, powerful mages, deadly mysteries? Yes, please!
• Don't Look Back by Jennifer Armentrout. I still haven't read this yet, but it's practically setting my TBR pile on fire!
Epic-one liner from The Taking?
"I would trade a million lifetimes for the one I've had with you." (Tyler)
Jessie Potts, also known as Book Taster, adores books in all forms. She also does reviews for Bitten by Books and RT Book Reviews and is an intern at Entangled Publishing. You can follow her on Twitter (@BookTaster).