Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

sarahdessen.com

Released: May 1998

I usually avoid YA books like the plague because 99% of the time, I find that the teenaged characters are almost ALWAYS annoying and bratty, yet paradoxically mature beyond their years. Yeah, right.

Plus, I can't handle all the flighty and stupid-sounding teen lingo (O-M-G! Totes!). It's just not cool, cute, or entertaining (although I'm sure teen readers love it because hey - that's the target market, right?). My parents seriously would have killed me if I so much as uttered the word "ain't," much less all the other crazy vocabulary used by teens nowadays, which most of the time I need to google to even remotely understand what it means.

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

amazon.com

Released: 1971

Despite my negative feelings about Post Office, I have an amazing story associated with this novel that could be better than the review.

I ended up with Post Office by accident and on purpose all at the same time.

So. There's a man at the grocery store I really enjoy talking to, and on a recent visit, we began talking about books.

For those of you who are well-read, talking about books with someone new can EASILY make or break your overall impression of that person. When someone tells me they like to read, I automatically tense up and go on the defense, ready to throw punches if they ask me if I've ever read the Twilight series, or Harry Potter, or Dean Koontz, or books by that Mary Higgins Clark person who "really writes good mystery stories."

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

laurellkhamilton.org

Released: September 1994

The Laughing Corpse is the second book in the "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter" series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I first read this novel about 15 years ago, but the humor in this series failed to entertain me, so I quit around books #4 or #5. With renewed interest in the paranormal romance genre, I've decided to start over with the series. Just for fun. To see if I've changed my mind.

Vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake continues to spend her nights raising the dead by profession. When a number of families are found brutally murdered and torn apart inside their homes, Anita suspects that a very old and very powerful zombie is behind the gruesome killings.

The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon

carolynturgeon.com

Released: August 2013

Back in January, I kicked off the year of 2013 with Turgeon's Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story (read my review here). I fell in love with the novel, and with Turgeon's dark and twisted, yet beautiful approach to such a classic fairy tale.

Last month, I was contacted by Simon and Schuster and offered a copy of The Fairest of Them All for review. Needless to say, I was thrilled at being given the opportunity to read Turgeon's latest work because I absolutely LOVED Godmother!

The Fairest of Them All is a fairy tale mashup about the lives of Rapunzel and Snow White.

Echo Burning by Lee Child

leechild.com

Released: June 2001

Echo Burning is the fifth novel in the "Jack Reacher" series by Lee Child. I'm OBSESSED with this series, and figured I'd better write up and post the review for Echo Burning before I read the sixth book and they all start blending together.

Somewhere in Texas, in the middle of the scorching summer, Jack Reacher finds himself hitchhiking along a deserted stretch of highway. Not expecting anyone to pick him up considering his intimidating 6'5" muscular physique and rough persona, Reacher is surprised when a beautiful, petite young Hispanic woman named Carmen Greer pulls over and offers him a ride.

As they start to drive, Reacher learns that Carmen Greer has been searching for a man just like Reacher to fulfill a devious plan - a plan that involves the assassination of her abusive husband and an escape from a meddlesome upper middle-class and very racist white family.