Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Take the simple formula boy meets girl, boy loves girl, boy loses girl.

Repeat it for a few hundred years, and add in a faerie curse, shifting allegiances, and a Winter Queen bent on killing her son.

This is the life of Keenan, the Summer King whose powers have been bound. To break the curse, he must find his Summer Queen. The catch? She has to risk her life for him, either taking on Winter’s Chill and living alone filled with cold, or becoming a Summer Girl and spending the rest of her life with the Summer Court.

Keenan thinks he’s finally found his Summer Queen. The problem is, she doesn’t love him, and she doesn’t want to become part of the fairy world. Meanwhile, Keenan is torn between his true love and his duty, and the Winter is getting longer and longer.

This book is set apart from other typical romance novels because the descriptions of the faerie world are so vivid. They can be brutal, capricious, or sensitive, but they’re all full of life. The romance isn’t the standard love triangle that has infected most teen books these days; it’s full of sacrifice and yearning. The story is very intricate, hurtling along with plenty of twists and turns. By the time you reach the ending you’ll want to read it again. 

Loved this book? Then you'll like:

City of Bones (and series) by Cassandra Clare

Hush, Hush (and series) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

I adore this series. To start off with, I love dragons, so this book already has my heart. But the characters…and the plot…and the pace…wow, it’s really incredible.

What’s really cool is that it focuses on a more Asian-centered world. I mean, I’m always reading about the US and about European countries and historical fiction in English courts, so it’s nice to have a change. The main character is called Eon, but he’s secretly a girl in disguise (pretty awesome, right?). She’s trying to become a Dragoneye, which means that she has a special bond to one of the twelve dragons (fun fact: the 12 dragons are based on the Chinese zodiac). Once she’s a Dragoneye, she has to deal with, for lack of a better term, court-like intrigue and complex politics in the Dragoneye world. Eon(a) has to deal with the sinister Lord Ido, who’s determined to seize power in the typical villainous-lord way. There are also a whole bunch of mysteries brought up, such as the fabled Mirror Dragon and the legendary black and red folios (books, basically) that contain powerful magic.

The storyline is fantastic. The pacing matched with the attention to detail is wonderful, and all the characters are well developed. I loved Eona because she was so strong, struggling to best the guys even with a lame leg. I love how feisty she was; not once did she ever stop fighting. While reading the book, I wanted to totally immerse myself in the world! What more can I say? Read it!

And then read the second one, because it’s even better. Why, you ask? Well, it introduces, along with more danger, more mysteries, and more powers for Eona: romance. That’s right. You finally get your typical love triangle, except there’s lots more going on. Trust me, neither of the guys is your average boy-next-door type. Both have secrets and neither of them trust each other, but seeing Eona’s relationship grow with one of them in particular is really interesting. To give you an idea of how addicted I was to this book, I couldn’t put it down even on a long, twisty car ride. I’m very prone to getting motion sickness. ‘Nuff said.

Loved this book? Then you'll like:


Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy (and series)
Anything that Tamora Pierce wrote
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (and series)
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (and series)
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

Now here's a book your guy friends don't want you to read! Raunchy, hilarious, sharp, and did I say raunchy, this is one of the most entertaining reads I've ever come across.

Each summer, Matt, Sean, and Cooper set themselves a goal. This year, it's to see a naked girl. (Need I say more? Your interest is already piqued!) This might be easy for some guys, but not these ones- they're all, well let's just say their not ladies' men. Matt is also trying to impress a girl on his swim team, Kelly, by swimming the butterfly, an insanely difficult event. To complicate things, she has a boyfriend, who is huge and terrifying. The boys' exploits to see a naked girl get funnier and funnier, and gradually more ridiculous. Each thing leads to another and soon the boys are knee deep in...problems.

Their banter is as hilarious as it is realistic, and I enjoyed reading about their friendship. Certain scenes had me laughing for minutes,like the bathroom one, and That's What She Said Day. I found it very...interesting...to find out what guys are thinking about most of the time. The book feels a lot like a comedy movie: great dialogue, plenty of action, and good pace. A perfect summertime adventure.

The sequel, Beat the Band, dishes up the same humor, with more of a serious aspect added in. While Swim the Fly is all laughs, this book is laughs with some meaning. Essentially, Cooper is manipulated by the four most popular girls in the school to hurt Hot Dog Helen, who he's paired with for Health class (discussing contraceptives- fun times). He's dealing with this as well as trying to shape up for the Beat the Band competition, which he and his friends entered. (They SUCK). Personally, I liked this one even better than the first.

The third book, Call the Shots, is told from Sean's point of view. It's going to come out this fall. Can't wait!

If you loved this book, you'll like:

Into the Ravine by Richard Scrimger
Paper Towns by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Spud by John van de Ruit
Looking for Alaska by John Green