The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer ★

Despite having no recollection whatsoever of Bree Tanner from Eclipse, I really enjoyed her perspective of the Twilight world.  It's too bad that Stephenie Meyer had already sealed her fate in Eclipse as it would have been very interesting to get to know her (and her vampire ninja bff) better.  A short, fast read - this novella compliments the Twilight saga nicely.

Ranger's Apprentice Book One by John Flanagan ★

The entire time I was reading Eragon and half of Eldest (yes, that's as far as I got) this is the book that I'd wished I was reading.  Not that there are any dragons but the epic "Lord of the Rings" adventure is all here without any of  the droning Paolini (or Tolkienian) descriptions of dwarves, fauna and languages.  Finally a series to modernize Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles.  Again, not that it has anything to do with a boy who keeps pigs or black cauldrons . . . What it does have is plenty of action, adventure and plot for the most disinterested young reader with at least a penchant for fantasy.  Despite working with somewhat cliche themes and characters the book is fast paced and very well written.  This is a series that I will keep reading!

Beastly by Alex Flinn

I saw a trailer for the movie based on this book awhile back and wasn't really interested.  Seemed like a variation of the Beauty and the Beast TV series in the eighties.  But then I found out Alex Pettyfer was going to be in it and after a cursory glance at Google images I decided the movie just might be worth seeing.  So of course I had to read the book first.  And I was not disappointed.  As a fan of fairy tales set in their "proper" eras I didn't think a modern NYC beast would be entertaining but I think Alex Flinn definitely pulled it off.  Let's just hope Alex Pettyfer does the same.  :)

The Kendra Chronicles
Beastly
Bewitching