I also recently got this book from Barnes N Noble, Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.  I didn't get into it right away, but not long after I started reading it, I couldn't stop.  I definitely want to see the movie, although the book is most likely better.  It is basically about a werewolf girl that falls in love with a human, something that is forbidden.  She begins to lose herself when she realizes what differences lie in the world of humans and of werewolves, and the similarities of lies and deceit.

 

When I was recently at Barnes N Noble, I got another book by Ned Vizzini.  I had already read his book Teen Angst? Naaah... and enjoyed it quite a bit.  This one was called It's Kind of a Funny Story and was about a teenager that had to go into a hospital for 5 days because he was depressed and suicidal.  I was drawn to the book for various reasons, and knew that it would be very good.  As I began reading, I couldn't put the book down, and read it straight through (minus when I had to help customers).

I really suggest this one, especially if you can relate in any way to being depressed or suicidal.  It makes you think a bit, and can help you see things in a new light.

 

The House of Night series by P.C. Kast and Kirstin Cast are a really great series that are about the world and lives of vampyre fledglings at the House of Night.  One thing I really enjoyed about this series was the Greek legend aspect about it.  The fledglings worship Nyx, the goddess of Night, and when things start happening that their high-priestess Neferet cannot seem to control, it is in the hands of vampyre fledgling Zoey Redbird.

An odd fledgling, Zoey became Marked one day in her high school, which meant she had to either go to the House of Night and accept her position as a fledgling, or die.  She chose the former, against the wishes of her mother and step-father.  Supported by her grandmother, Zoey entered the school and is quickly noticed by everyone because she has developed faster than the normal fledgling, which poses a few problems.

The four books in this series that I have read all caught my attention, because like the Vampire Academy novels, this series focuses on a more original and lesser-written about aspect of vampire legends.

Marked
Betrayed
Chosen
Untamed
Hunted

 

The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is a great series about, as the title suggests, vampires.  In the series, dhampir Rose Hathaway is set to protect the Moroi princess Lissa Dragomir.  They had escaped the confines of the school, St. Vladimir's, and are on the run for 2 years before they must return and are forced to stay again.  Strange things had been happening that had caused them to leave in the first place, and the fear comes back once they return.

I've read these books twice now, and they seemed to get better with each page I turned.  If you enjoy vampire books, these ones also take on a different aspect of vampire legends: dhampirs, Moroi, and Strigoi, aspects that are very rarely mentioned.

Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss