• Kristan Higgins’s All I Ever Wanted hit the USA Today Bestseller List!
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  • Kristan Higgins’s Too Good to be True won the 2010 RITA for Best Single Title Contemporary Romance.
  • Katherine Garbera’s The Pirate is being excerpted in this month’s edition of Cosmo as their Red Hot Read.
  • Robyn DeHart’s Seduce Me won the RomCon Readers Crown for Best Short Historical.
  • Teri Brisbin’s The Conqueror’s Lady and A Storm of Passion are both finalists in the 2010 RomCon Readers’ Crown contest.
  • Kathryn Smith’s When Marrying a Scoundrel is a Top Pick from Romantic Times.
  • Robyn DeHart’s Seduce Me is the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award winner for Best Historical Romantic Adventure.
  • Janette Kenny’s Innocent in the Italian’s Possession made the USA Today Bestseller List.
  • The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins is on Bookpage’s Best Books of 2010.

Beyond Harry Potter– Vampires, teenage angst and secret worlds

Some of the best books I read in the past year were books for teens. Seriously, some of these books just blew me away. (Okay, J.K. Rowling has been blowing us all away for years, but you probably know about her.) So I thought I’d share the love and give you the low down on the fabulous books beyond the Harry Potter universe. 

 

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This book takes place in a Victorian girl’s boarding school and seamlessly weaves elements of gothic paranormal with backstabbing girl politics. If you thought Voldemort was evil, wait till you get a load of these rich girls. Beautifully written and completely engrossing. Give this series a try.

 

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Sure the movie was okay. But just okay. It lacked the taut suspense and claustrophobic fear of the book. Like all great post-apocalyptic fiction, this book is gritty and grim, but still retains the hope that basic human goodness will get us through the tough times. 

 

Good Ghouls Guide to Getting Even by Julie Kenner

Blood sucking monsters, petty cheerleaders, and hunky guys. Isn’t that what high school is all about? This book is both fun and funny. Sure it lacks the earnest romanticism of Twilight, but Kenner handles the highs and lows of battling the undead while beefing up your college applications with grace. It’s a teen vampire book with (pardon the pun) bite!

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  1. Shana Said:

    I read some good YA this year too. I read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, and it was great. I also like Laurie Halse Anderson. The best book I read was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I can’t believe I have to wait until September 8 for her next one to come out.

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  2. Mary M Said:

    I agree about the YA books. I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty too.

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  3. Linda Said:

    I have read some good YA the last couple of years. The Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine is fantastic, as are the Blue Blood series by Melissa De La Cruz, Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, and the House of Night series by PC Cast.

    I liked A Great and Terrible Beauty and the other 2 books in that series too. I finally persuaded my 11 year old daughter to actually pick up a book, by letting her read some of my easier to read YA books.

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