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.

Thirsty by M.T. Anderson

In Chris's hometown, vampires are the norm. There's a ritual every year to keep the dark vampire lord in his prison, and the vampires in the area are usually hunted down and killed before they kill too many people. But the vampires are uneasy and beginning to form alliances in order to free their lord from his prison.

But Chris can't worry about that right now. Torn between daydreaming about Rebecca, wanting to be popular, and hanging out with his two friends, Chris has more important issues. Like a thirst he cannot seem to satisfy. And teeth that grow whenever he thinks about blood. Whatever is happening to him, it cannot be good.

A quick and fun novel, full of action, humor, and vampires.

The Ice Cream Con by Jimmy Docherty

Jake and his friends live in the Projects--a poor, rundown area full of crime. When the local crime boss admits to Jake he stole Jake's money (and the only way to feed himself and his grandmother), Jake decides to get even.

Enter the Big Baresi. Soon, every major crime in the Projects is said to be the Big Baresi's work. And all Jake and his friends had to do was scatter some flyers around and scare a few big thugs who terrorize the neighborhood. Or so Jake thought. As long as everyone fears the Big Baresi, his enemies increase and his life expectancy decreases. And with it, Jake fears for his and his friends' lives as well.

So he comes up with a daring plot to save them all. And catch the big crime lords in the process...

An interesting story with action. Some things are a little unbelievable but the story as a whole is very entertaining.

Pope Joan by Donna Cross

Pope Joan tells the legend of Joan, a young woman who poses as her brother and makes her way up to the most powerful position in the Catholic Church--Pope. Set in the 800s, Joan grows up in the middle of the Dark Ages where few people know how to read or write and women are seen as mere property and worthless.

Joan, however, strives to be different, at a very young age. Her father is a canon and marries a pagon. As she grows, Joan's mother teaches her about her religion as her father instructs her and her brothers in the Catholic faith. Joan's thirst for knowledge increases as she grows along with her father's anger towards her. When tragedy strikes and Joan's brother is killed, she decides to take his place rather than become someone's prize or slave. Her thirst for knowledge and quick wits keep her alive and her secret hidden until the very end.

The novel itself questions whether Joan actually existed. The author explains in her afterword why she believes this legend, even with the arguments against it. A great historical fiction!

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Benevolence, or Ben as she is called, is a young girl whose life changes tragically when her mother is killed and her father disappears. Ben is the heir to the throne--her uncle, the king, was murdered along with her mother. Ben is moved to the palace from the only home she has ever known and forced into "queen" training by the queen regent, her aunt. Waiting desperately for her father to come home, she rebels any way she can. Including the ball her aunt plans in order to present her to the neighboring kingdoms--and available princes.

Then Ben is trapped behind enemy lines, and forced to see herself and her behavior from another perspective. Will it wake her up to do her duty and save her kingdom? Or will she be too late?

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Bianca has just started a new school--a boarding school--with her parents as teachers. She struggles with some of the classes, and with her fellow classmates. The one person she feels she made a connection with seems leery of developing a friendship with her. The other students who have always gone to Evernight treat her with disdain, while the new students don't know what to make of her either. And then one night, everything changes.

Another view at the world of vampires. You aren't sure just who is or isn't one until someone gets bitten.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

In this sequel to Wicked Lovely, Marr brings back the main characters Aislynn, Seth, and Keenan, but only as minor characters.

The past year of Leslie's life has been terrible. Her mother ran out on her family, her dad drowns in a bottle of alcohol everyday, and her brother Ren hops from one drug to another, searching for the next high. The family is crumbling, and Leslie is the only one that strives for responsibility--she pays the bills with her waitressing job, and can't wait to graduate from high school and move to college.

The only thing Leslie looks forward to is the tattoo she hopes to get and the marking it will giver her body that it is hers--and hers alone.

What she doesn't know is the tattoo has its own way of making her body a prisoner.

Another fantastic novel by an accomplished author.