Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley, 278 pages

Told from the perspective of just about every character, the book unfolds the history of Bella who was born a knight's daughter but raised a peasant. When her mother dies in childbirth, her father wants nothing to do with her or her mother's family. Poor Bella is rescued by her mother's sister who drops her off with a peasant woman who was the Prince's wet nurse. Bella grows up into a beauty with a heart to match, but soon her father comes back into  her life to steal her away. Through hardships and trials, Bella becomes everything she was destined to be and more -- (with the help of some very magical gifts). It was, unfortunately, very hard for me to finish the book because of the differing viewpoints and jumping timelines.

Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants by Sam Swope

Jack and the Seven Deadly Giants by Sam Swope, 100 pages

Jack is abandoned on the miller's step and from there his life is a never ending move from one home to another. His curiosity gets him into never-ending trouble and Jack ends up being labeled as a bad child. When he is blamed for seven deadly giants attacking villagers, the townspeople have him thrown out stating it's Jack's badness that brought the giants. Jack meets up with a fellow traveler who offers him a bean in exchange for food. The bean is magic and allows Jack one wish ... what he wishes most for is his mother, but gets a cow instead. As he travels along with the cow as his companion, he meets up with a variety of deadly giants. Jack's cleverness and curiosity leads him to out of dangerous situations until he finds his happy ending.

The Princess of Cortova by Diane Stanley

The Princess of Cortova by Diane Stanley, 311 pages
(Final book in The Silver Bowl trilogy)

Desperate to ally his kingdom to the trade kingdom of Cortova, King Alaric takes the silver cup that Molly had made in the previous book to present to the beautiful Princess Elizabetta. With magic woven into the cup, when the princess drinks from it she will fall instantly in love with King Alaric for life.
Princess Elizabetta has been wedded and widowed once, and watched her fiance, his sister and his parents be torn apart by magical wolves on their wedding day with only Prince Alaric escaping. She's had enough of being the bartering chip for her father and would love nothing more than to stay in her beloved Cortova and rule it as queen instead of her odd brother who is the heir. She also wishes to marry for love if she must wed at all. Molly is unsure of Princess Elizabetta's attentions towards herself and Alaric...  and wonders exactly what the princess has planned for her two suitors.
King Gonzalo of Cortova has different plans for his daughter. He invites the two warring relatives, King Alaric and King Reynard, to compete for his daughter's hand in marriage. Tensions quickly rise as it becomes all too apparent that someone is trying to assassinate King Alaric. Molly's gift is on haywire, however, and death lies in wait for many before it's all over. A fitting conclusion to a good trilogy, although one particular death was too tragic for young readers.

Poison by Chris Wooding

Poison by Chris Wooding, 273 pages

"The world is a library, young Poison, and you'll never get to read the same book twice." Truer words were never spoken by Fleet, a character you'll meet along Poison's journey.
When Poison's sister is kidnapped by faeries, she is sent on an adventure where she discovers the world is not at all what she thought it and she's more than just a girl searching for her sister. She will face many dangers that will shape who she will become. I enjoyed the twist and turns of this book. It had a "The Neverending Story" feel almost to the very end.

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins, 327 pages
(#3 Hex Hall Series)

In possibly the final installment of the Sophie Mercer story, Sophie alone has escaped the clutches of the evil Casnoff sisters with her demon powers bound inside of her. As she tries to discover what has happened to her vampire bestfriend, demon father, warlock fiance and her "works for the enemy" love interest, Sophie will uncover far more than she imagined. After having her world rocked by several revelations, Sophie must pull her self together to: 1. Find her friends and her father. 2. Unlock her magic that has been tucked away inside her. and 3. Stop the Casnoff sisters thereby ceasing their plot to amass a demon army by changing all of her classmates into demons. Being powerless is a problem until Elodie steps in to save Sophie's skin more than  few times. By far my favorite of the series save for a few story-lines that went sour in my opinion. Most notably was Cal's story. I really thought the author could have done more for Cal than she did. Other than the few flaws, I was overall happy with the "ending."

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched by Amanda Hocking, 318 pages
(Book 1 of  the self-published Trylle series)

Wendy is a changeling. A creature left in place of a child that has been stolen away. That's what's explained to Wendy when she finds herself nearly kidnapped by brutal strangers. Wendy is shocked to hear this, but at the same time wonders if that's why her life has been so difficult. Her own mother always made it a point to say Wendy was not really her daughter. She even tried killing Wendy at her 6th birthday party. Had it not been for her human brother, Wendy would not have survived.  Learning there is a chance that she can really discover who she is, Wendy follows her "tracker" to seek her new life. What she finds is unimaginable danger and heartbreak around every corner. The story behind the switch of human children with supernatural creatures is an interesting one. The author does an excellent job in presenting this self-published story. Self-published is the keyword. This book is really enjoyable if you can overlook the lack of professional editing.

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz, 302 pages
Book 1 of the Blue Bloods series

An interesting twist on Vampires. In the story, they are actually fallen angels trying to make their way back into heaven. They prey on human blood because that is what gives them the ability to keep living their lives (reincarnation) until they "get it right" and get back into heaven.
Schuyler Van Alen is part of Manhattan's most elite and exclusive circle. She attends a private school with very few students. When a student is murdered, Schuyler discovers things about her society that she had never imagined possible before. With the help of her friends, she must discover the mystery of who/what is hunting the elite and why. She will also find keys to her past that unwrap a whole new world of questions.

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Evernight by Claudia Gray, 327 pages
Book 1 of the series

A Romeo & Juliet novel with one as a vampire and one as a vampire hunter. This book held a lot of twists and turns. I had some suspicions of who would be a vampire but nothing prepared me for the discovery. I was actually shocked and had to flip back to see if I had missed anything important that gave away answers - nothing. The story runs along at a brisk pace -- not too fast, not to slow. The romance is there but it's your typical teenage forbidden love romance.  This was the first book in the series and, while it did have a snippet of the second book at the back, it didn't hold me well enough to want to read anymore about the main character and her forbidden love story.

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter, 283 pages
(Final book of the Goddess Test series)

Kate and Henry are soon to have a child but no happily ever after. Calliope has kidnapped Kate and held her captive for 9 months ensuring Kate will give her the child she carries. Terrified Kate bargains with Cronus for the life of her child, but is one life worth all of humanity? In the meantime, Henry (Hades) is doing all that he can to rescue his wife and child while Walter (Zeus) preps the gods for the final battle with Cronus. There will be casualties of war, especially since Cronus and Calliope have constructed weapons that can kill a god.
I really enjoyed this last book in the series. I knew it would end on a happy note because it's the final in the series and what author is going to disappoint her fans? However, it was a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout the pages. I did think a little more could have been done in building up the storyline and filling in the blanks, but all in all it was a good read. Kate was, once again, a martyr and played that role well. James is still one of my favorite characters. I am hoping that Aimee Carter will write a series revolving around him. The book also gives hope for the story of another to continue. I look forward to seeing if we will have a spin off.