The Mortal Instruments Series

If you are going through "Twilight" withdrawal, then you are going to LOVE these books. Because there is life after "Twilight" people. I promise!! I had trouble grappling with this concept too, until I picked up the "Mortal Instruments" books by Cassandra Clare. And let's be honest- these books are pretty basic to the YA genre at this point, but I did not even know they existed until I read about them on Stephenie Meyer's blog. If I didn't know about these books, maybe you don't either. Sometimes, I even think they are better than "Twilight" (gasp!). But Cassandra creates a world that is a broad and as deep as that of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books while also preserving the aspects which teen agers love about the "Twilight" Saga (handsome men, romance, adventure, ect.) Their are characters that you can both relate to and ogle at and a wierd love triange that will both drive you insane and get you completely hooked on the series. The stories are fantastic. My favorite of the books is probably the second one, "City of Ashes." but they are all incredible.


If there is anything you get out of this blog, ANYTHING, I hope it is that you go pick up these books and read them. You can learn more about Cassandra Clare and the Mortal Instruments series by going to her personal page or by following her on Twitter or friending her on Facebook. If you have read the "Mortal Instruments" series, may I recommend the fantastic "Wicked Lovely" series by Mellissa Marr, which I will be sure to blog about it soon!
More to come, OfficiallyMRS

Love is Hell

Next up on the list is "Love is Hell." I picked this one up of the library bookshelf because it is a collection of short stories by a bunch of YA authors. Reading short stories is one of the best ways I have found to find awesome authors that you may have either read before or never actually heard of. Either way, its a great way to branch out of your comfort zone of authors, especially if you have some familiar faces in the mix of stories. "Love is Hell" is written by Melissa Marr ("Wicked Lovely"), Scott Westerfeld ("Specials"), Justine Larbalenstier ("Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin ("Elsewhere") and Laurie Faria Stolarz ("Blue is for Nightmare"). The stories in it are fantastic. They aren't too racy but they set characters in unique circumstances, whether it be our world far in the future or in the past or anywhere else in between, and create realistic people whom we can all relate to. A portion of the books proceeds go to College Summit, which is pretty cool and generous if I do say so myself.

The next short story book I am going to read is a new one called "Vacations from Hell "which is written entirely by authors who I read and loved, such as Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Mylnowski and Claudia Gray.

More to come,

OfficiallyMRS