Suggestion Saturday, er, Sunday!

Yeah, I know I said I'd be doing Suggestion Saturdays and I haven't. I also know that today is Sunday. But, whatever, I still have a wonderful suggestion for today.

I've been on a YA kick lately, if you can't tell. So, I decided to make these suggestions NOT YA (shocking, I know).

Today, we have Mary Balogh's Bedwyn Series:



This is a regency series (of course it is, just look at the covers) that made me a life long fan of Mary Balogh. Years ago, I was a literary snob. I'll admit it. I thought, like a lot of unfortunate souls do, that romance was trash. I would never have been caught dead reading a book with a cover similar to any of these. But, one day while perusing the shelves of the 50 cent paperback racks at my local Goodwill, I decided to be reckless. I picked up a copy of Slightly Dangerous along with some not so great romances which will remain nameless and another that I'll mention in an upcoming suggestion post.

"But, obviously, Slightly Dangerous is the last in the series," you might say. And I would reply, "Well, where were you when I decided to take a leap and buy it? Because the strife I endured while reading this book and wondering about all the rest of the family and their stories was frustrating, to say the least."

Needless to say, I was hooked. The second I finished Dangerous I ordered every other book in the series. I now look back on my oh-so-snobby self and give her the cut direct. Regency romances became a passion of mine. One that I only allow myself to indulge in every few weeks or so, because once I start, I can't stop. And Mary Balogh is my favorite regency author. She always involves so much emotion in her books that I know I will cry. Call me sappy, I don't care. I will shout it from the rooftops "I LOVE REGENCY ROMANCE!"

Slightly Dangerous will always be my favorite in the series because I came to love stuffy, ol' Wulfric and his patriarchal ways and I related to Christine's clumsy, self-sacrificing character. But, my second favorite is Slightly Sinful about Alleyne who gets amnesia from being wounded in battle and is taken in by all the flamboyant ladies in a brothel and he must find his family even though he doesn't know who they are and he falls in love with the girl who saved him who he thinks is a prostitute but she really isn't and.... Sorry, got carried away.

So there you have it. If you are like I was way back when and don't want to lower yourself to the romance genre then, GET OVER YOURSELF! Sorry if that was a little harsh but it's just how I feel :) Go pick up one of the books in this series. I recommend the last one, that way you'll HAVE to go get the rest in order to know the beginning.

Happy Reading!

YA Review: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

In One Sentence: Read it in one day, 'nuff said.


Amazon Description:
Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come.

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

YA Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

In One Sentence: I've been waiting on this one and it didn't disappoint!


Amazon Description: 
One hour to rewrite the past . . . 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

YA Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

In One Sentence: Nom, nom, nom, nom, sooooo good!

Amazon Description: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.


During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Suggestion Saturday Starts!

I want to give some love to books that aren't exactly new but are amazing just the same. Introducing:

I'll be suggesting books that helped me nurture my love of reading, be they childrens', YA, romance, or comics.

So, if you feel like joining in, go right ahead! If you want to, leave me a comment with a link to your blog so I can get some suggestions as well!

YA Review: Jinx by Meg Cabot

In One Sentence: Nom, nom, nom, I ate it up!

The Lovin': Our main character here is Jean Honeychurch, aka Jinx. She's a teen who's just moved from a small town to the big city of New York to live with her aunt and uncle and their family. "Wait, why is she called Jinx?" you may be asking. Well, it seems that she has always had bad luck and everything she touches gets screwed up.

Anyway, in New York, her once-close cousin turns out to be a mean girl, Jinx gets a crush on her cousin's crush (just her luck), and the mystery of why she left her hometown just won't stay a secret. Oh, and there's a lot of witchy stuff!

YA Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

In One Sentence: An original and interesting ghost story.


Description from Amazon: Release date - June 7, 2011


Can there truly be love after death?


Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.


Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.