Countdown: New Series (3)

These last few books will wrap up my new series countdown lists....for now at least. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to all of these release dates. I have quite a few books in my collection and that are close to my heart that are stand alones. But there is just something about a series that always pulls me in, as long as it's one I've enjoyed of course. I've always felt sad if you find new characters and plots, worlds and scenarios that readers can get excited about only to be cut off once the stand alone book ends. I enjoy a series because readers get the chance to come back and visit with all the elements they've fallen in love with and enjoyed so much. Characters grow, plots continue to twist and turn, and honestly it makes me appreciate authors all the more. It's an incredible feat to write a book and have it published. But to be able to continue to come up with new ideas and keep the readers' attention all the while....it's nothing short of a miracle and it's an accomplishment that impresses me every time I pick up a new installment in a series.

Countdown Pick #1: Shattered Dreams (Midnight Dragonfly, #1) by Ellie James (12/2/2011)

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.


Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.


But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.

Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

One for the Christmas wish list, I think so. We've all seen enough movies and read enough books to know that when a character has a special gift like Trinity does, it's best to keep it under wraps. But alas, these characters always seem to be hell bent on using their gifts to help people despite the consequences to themselves. You have to love them for it...even if you're yelling at them to "don't do it" at the same time. Sign me up James, I'm ready to scream and root for your characters all at the same time.

Countdown Pick #2: Pretty In Black (Pretty In Black, #1) by Rae Hachton (11/2/2011)

Some Things are Pretty. Some Things are Black. Love is both.

Ellie Piper

She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. & There's no way in hell he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated.

Marcus Marble

How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you're still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you're being hunted by your own kind?

Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

I'm thinking these two characters have a lot of things that they're going to need to work out. I can't even figure out if there's going to be romance or just an all out "I love you but I also hate you" kind of atmosphere. Romance is great but sometimes I enjoy the build up more if characters fight their feelings and attempt to resist temptation. I like it as long as their feelings and love win out in the end of course. So I'm hearing the drumroll and looking forward to seeing which way this one goes.

Countdown Pick #3: Lies Beneath (Lies Beneath, #1) by Anne Greenwood Brown (6/1/2012)

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

I'm puzzling it out, or at least trying to figure out how exactly the author is going to get her readers to empathize with man eating mermaids? Any ideas? Me neither. I'm assuming it'll be interesting to see if she's able to do it and if so how long it will take. It sounds like an intriguing tale and I'll admit that mermaids are right up there with witches for me right now. There's just something about them that has piqued my interest and has me clamoring for any and all titles that have them in their pages. Looking forward to this read, but I'm thinking a dip in the lake will bring out a whole new host of phobias...yikes!

Countdown Pick #4: ExtraNormal (ExtraNormal, #1) by Suze Reese (January 2012)

Mira Johns is pretty much like any other teenage girl. Except that she knows how to harness electro-magnetic energy to communicate without words. And she's really, really far from home. Her assignment as an emissary to Earth sounds fairly simple: blend in, observe, and stay away from the planet’s primitive males. But after she finds one mysterious boy too irresistible for stupid rules, she realizes the real reason she's supposed to keep her distance: mates from her world can die if separated. But a series of serious accidents make it clear that someone wants to force her return. Mira decides her only hope is to uncover the truth to why she, the most mediocre of candidates, was actually chosen for this assignment—before the agency discovers her secret and sends her back home.

Oooo do I love a futuristic setting that doesn't always equal an apocalypse of some kind. Mira's mission seems to be simple enough (as they usually do) but turns out to be anything but simple. Someone from Mira's world is not her friend and I'm wondering how far this individual or persons will go to see to her ruin. Will she find her mate in this Earth boy, and if she does will she stay with him to survive or take him back with her? It's all so mysterious and exciting that I'm practically already on the edge of my seat. This futuristic society might not be so bright after all.