The Vampire Diaries vol 1 by L.J. Smith

The Awakening
Elena seems to have it all, despite the fact that her parents just died. She and her younger sister live with their aunt, and the school year starts off just as it normally would. Elena is the most popular girl in school, and everyone wants to be her or be with her. After spending the summer in France, Elena is ready to face the coming year and be the "Queen" once again.

But things are not going to go the way she wants. First, there is a new mysterious guy--Stefan--who seems immune to her charms. Determined to catch him, she and her friends begin a campaign to make him hers. And then the real trouble begins...

The Struggle
The second book of the Vampire Diaries series begins right as the first one leaves off. Elena and Stefan are now together, but odd things begin to happen. There are attacks on the citizens of Fell's Church--ever since Stefan arrived--but they begin to tie back to him more now than ever before. Elena knows his secrets, but can she confide hers to him? How would he react to what his brother has been doing? And how he has also been targetting her?

An exciting beginning to an interesting series. I would suggest having all of the volumes before getting into the series--I can't wait to read what happens next!

Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

Playing With Fire is the sequel to Landy's first novel, Skulduggery Pleasant. And Skulduggery and Valkyrie, aka Stephanie, are back in another action-packed adventure. Learning how to use her powers, Valkyrie, now 13, has the added stress of school and appearing normal to her family and friends on the outside. She and Skulduggery chase after bad guys at night, but often during the day as well.

Meanwhile, Baron Vengeous has escaped from his prison, bent on bringing the Faceless Ones back to life. The Baron has only been captured once before, and it was by Skulduggery. Once again, Skulduggery is called in to recapture the Baron and bring him to justice, Valkyrie at his side. But things seem to go wrong from the very beginning. Valkyrie is one of the Baron's main targets, and he sets a vampire and other beings out to capture her. It also appears someone very high on the "good" side is leaking information to the Baron. Will they be able to save the day?

Written with the same humor as the first book, Landy has created yet another exciting adventure.