The Best Books Ever

Kitty Steals the Show By Carrie Vaughn Published by Tor Published on July 31, 2012 Summary taken from Goodreads:   Kitty has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world—and Kitty, Ben, and Cormac are right in the middle of it. Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own. With the help of the Master of London, Kitty gets more of a glimpse into the Long Game—a power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries—than she ever has before. In her search for answers, Kitty has the help of some old allies, and meets some new ones, such as Caleb, the alpha werewolf of the British Isles. The conference has also attracted some old enemies, who’ve set their sights on her and her friends. All the world’s a s...

Rape Girl By Alina Klein Published on June 5, 2012 Published by Namelos Source: Netgalley Summary from Goodreads : Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl. But not the rape girl. That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it. Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers. The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same. Rape Girl is the compelling story of a survivor who does the right thing and suffers for it. It is also the story of a young woman’s struggle to find the strength to fight back. My thoughts... This book grabbed me from the start because of its very bold title.  A lot of authors would probably have shied away from titling a book  Rape Girl , but Alina Klein didn't, and I...

Otherkin By Nina Berry Published by Kensington Teen Published on July 31, 2012 Source: ARC from publisher Summary taken from Goodreads : Dez is a good girl who does as she’s told and tries not to be noticed. Then she rescues a boy from a cage, and he tells her secrets about herself. Now inside her burns a darkness that will transform her. Everything is about to change -- and neither Caleb, nor the Otherkin, nor those who hunt them are prepared for what Dez will unleash. The Cover:  The cover of this book was what originally drew me in.  I loved that the cover model looked a bit exotic and that she obviously was able to shift into a tiger- not a werewolf or a vampire.  I loved how vibrant the colors were on the cover and how different it seemed from other covers out there.  And can I say that she kinda looks Russian (if you know what I mean?)  - that is pretty awesome to me! The Characters: The names in this book were a little strange, a...

I Kill Giants By Joe Kelly  Illustrated by J.M. Ken Niimura Published by Image Comics Published on September 2009 Source: Gift Summary Taken From Goodreads : Barbara Thorson, a girl battling monsters both real and imagined, kicks butt, takes names, and faces her greatest fear in this bittersweet, coming-of-age story called "Best Indy Book of 2008" by IGN. Collects I Kill Giants #1-7. I was given I Kill Giants by my husband last Christmas and finally got around to reading it.  He was told that I would really love this comic and that it was one of the stand out series in graphic novels.   I have mixed feelings about I Kill Giants.  For one thing, I don't get the point of useless nudity- especially when the figures are drawn to look like children.  It didn't put me in the right frame of mind to like this book.  The story itself would have made a great novel.  Barbara is a very troubled child who is dealing...

We've got a whole bunch of new "faces" this week at Best Book Ever!  We're very pleased to welcome some of the Lucky 13s , a group of debut children's and young adult authors with books arriving in 2013.  So not only are they new faces, but they've also got a lot of awesome books that I'm already looking forward to reading. This week on Best Book Ever, we're talking about our favorite series.  Because sometimes one book, or three books, just isn't enough.  Series are great for engrossing you in a whole new world, for a very long time.  Here are some of our favorites. Now I will admit from the off here guys that I couldn't narrow it down any further than two. I love them both so very much. Firstly, there is MEREDITH GENTRY by Laurell K Hamilton. Oh My Goodness!! What a series. Let me warn you now, it's not YA. There is no way at all it could ever be YA. The amount of raunchy, sexy, provocative (you get the picture) scenes in these...

Shine Shine Shine By Lydia Netzer Published on July 17, 2012 Published by St Martin's Press Source: Netgalley Summary from Goodreads : A debut unlike any other,  Shine, Shine, Shine  is a shocking, searing, breathless love story, a gripping portrait of modern family, and a stunning exploration of love, death and what it means to be human. Sunny Mann has masterminded a life for herself and her family in a quiet Virginia town. Her house and her friends are picture-perfect. Even her genius husband, Maxon, has been trained to pass for normal. But when a fender bender on an average day sends her coiffed blonde wig sailing out the window, her secret is exposed. Not only is she bald, Sunny is nothing like the Stepford wife she’s trying to be. As her facade begins to unravel, we discover the singular world of Sunny, an everywoman searching for the perfect life, and Maxon, an astronaut on his way to colonize the moon. Theirs is a wondrous, strange relationsh...

Revived By Cat Patrick Published on May 8, 2012 Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers Source:  Finished Copy from Publisher Summary taken from Goodreads : As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined. The Cover: I am a big fan of all of Cat Patrick's covers.  I am not sure who she has working ...

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend By Matthew Dicks Published on August 21, 2012 Published by St. Martin's Press Source: Netgalley Summary from Goodreads : Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends - four years - because Max needs him more. His parents argue about sending him to a special school. But Max is perfectly happy if everything is just kept the way it is, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, something out of the ordinary is going to happen - and then he'll need Budo more than ever...   My thoughts... Max is a young boy who is probably somewhere on the autism spectrum.  His parents don't quite know what to do with him, and neither do other kids at school.  Max doesn't like change, or st...

Welcome to Best Book Ever here at Short and Sweet Reviews!  We skipped a week, thanks to travel and plagues in our houses, but we're back now and are talking about our favorite debut authors from 2011 and 2012.  There have been a ton of excellent books by brand new authors, and these are some of our favorites. Oh my gosh, there are some wonderful Debut Authors out there at the moment. I could have chosen so many. but my choice is ADA ADAMS , author of ReVamped . Let me tell you this now, I am in awe of Ada. She is so talented. She approached me about reviewing ReVamped and I near enough bit her arm off. Only the previous day I had been checking this book out. So to have Ada approach me, I was only too pleased to agree to review it.  I am so glad I read this book. Ada created a wonderful world in which I would gladly get lost for days, weeks, months or even years of my life. I could pack up and move into Angel Creek. As long as I got to live with Sebastian *swoons...

Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo Published by Henry Holt and Co Published on June 5, 2012 Source: ARC from Publisher Summary taken from Goodreads : Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will ha...

Equations of Life By Simon Morden Published on April 1, 2011 Published by Orbit Source: Netgalley Summary from Goodreads : Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor. He survived the nuclear fallout in St. Petersburg and hid in the London Metrozone - the last city in England. He's lived this long because he's a man of rules and logic. For example, getting involved = a bad idea. But when he stumbles into a kidnapping in progress, he acts without even thinking. Before he can stop himself, he's saved the daughter of the most dangerous man in London. And clearly saving the girl = getting involved. Now, the equation of Petrovitch's life is looking increasingly complex. Russian mobsters + Yakuza + something called the New Machine Jihad = one dead Petrovitch. But Petrovitch has a plan - he always has a plan - he's just not sure it's a good one. My thoughts... The action in Equations of Life is virtually non-stop, from the moment when Sam ...