Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Title: Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: January 5th, 2010
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 0312573804
Rating: 4 stars

I love characters that everyone else hates. I love the asshole jocks, the douche villains, and especially, the evil popular girls. So a book where the main character is one of the mean girls? Even though it could go so terribly, terribly wrong, I am immediately intrigued.

And thankfully, Some Girls Are got it so very right.

Angelfall [ Penryn and The End of Days #1 ] by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall
Series: Penryn and The End of Days
Author: Susan Ee
Publication Date: May 21st, 2011
Publisher: Feral Dream
ISBN: 0983597014
Rating: 5 stars

Angelfall is a post-apocalyptic novel in which angels have taken over earth in a reign of terror. People must abandon their old lives in a fight to stay alive, so gangs roam the streets, cars are lined up on the highway, and individuals take cover in abandoned houses until someone stronger comes along and either kills them or kicks them out.

In this chaotic new world, our heroine, Penryn, is just trying to take care of her occasionally violent mentally-ill mother and her crippled little sister. When things get stressful, Penryn is usually abandoned by her mother, forcing her to be able to protect herself as well as her sister. This is how the story begins, when they witness a fight among a few angels, and Penryn rashly decides to help one of them (all on her own) after his wings have been cut off. All seems to be going better than could be expected, up until one of the angels flies away with Penryn’s sister.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone [ The Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1 ] by Laini Taylor

Title: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Series: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Publication Date: January 1st, 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown

ISBN: 0316134023 

Rating: 5 stars

[NOTE: This is an old, slightly modified review. Also, I will have a section called “SPOILERS”. It will, as you may have guessed, feature spoilers. So, here’s your warning to look at for that, lest you be spoiled!]

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of the best books I have read in recent memory, and the hype has definitely been earned. Laini Taylor weaves words with magic; her style is eloquent and poetic without ever going over-the-top, and I’m sure she’s going to quickly become one of my favorite authors. Beautiful prose mixed with excellent characters that are constantly developing, an enchanting setting, and an intriguing plot makes this a book an excellent start to what will surely be a wonderful and immensely magical series.