Title: All These Things I’ve Done (Birthright #1)
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Published: August, 2011 by Pan Macmillan
Thanks: Pan Macmillan, AU
Pages: 354
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

It’s 2083. There’s a chocolate prohibition, and New York City is a very changed place. Art museums are now dance clubs, books are musty relics of the past, water is strictly rationed, and the mafia ruled black market consists of chocolate and caffeine.

And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city’s most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.’s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she’s to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight – at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Final Thoughts:
I loved this book. But you could probably already glean that from my five star rating. I don’t hand those out often, so you should know that this one was worth it. Sure, it’s probably going to be known as the ‘chocolate dystopian’, but that’s not what makes this book so good. It’s the wonderfully written range of characters that bring this story to life. All the rest is just a… well, not-so-pretty background to the life that is Anya Balanchine.

Title: Black Swan Rising (Black Swan Rising #1)
Author: Lee Carroll
Published: July, 2010 by Bantam Press
Pages: 396
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

When New York City jewelry designer Garet James stumbles into a strange antiques shop in her neighborhood, her life is about to be turned upside down. John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, commissions her to open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to her by her deceased mother. Garet can’t believe her luck and this eerie coincidence until she opens the box and otherworldly things start happening. . .

On her journey, she will meet the fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can’t stop thinking about. Whom can Garet trust to guide her? Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she’s got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.

Final Thoughts:
What an unexpectedly amazing book. More people should be reading this. Plenty of action as creepy fog demons terrorise New York City. I loved the dreadlocked mentor and the vampire romance had me demanding more. This is one you shouldn’t pass up.

Title: Raised By Wolves (Raised By Wolves #1)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: June, 2010 by Quercus
Pages: 418
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn’t mean that she’s averse to breaking a rule or two.

But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian’s basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents’ murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she’s shaped?

Final Thoughts:
From a werewolf sceptic, I really loved this book. The characters were well developed, the relationships felt real, and the plot had enough meat to it to keep me on the edge of my… well, bed. This is a book I’d be glad to have in my collection.

Title: The Demon’s Surrender (The Demon’s Lexicon #3)
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Published: June, 2011 by Simon and Schuster
Pages: 383
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The Goblin Market has always been the centre of Sin’s world. She’s a dancer and a performer, secure in her place. But now the Market is at war with the magicians, and Sin’s place is in danger. Keeping secrets from the market she loves, struggling with a friend who has become a rival, Sin is thrown together with the Ryves brothers, Nick and Alan – whom she’s always despised. But Alan has been marked by a magician, to be tortured as the magician pleases, and as Sin watches Alan struggle to protect the brother he loves, she begins to see both brothers in a new light. But how far will brother go to save brother – and what will it cost them all?

Final Thoughts:
A full on rollercoaster of emotions. I was left in tears as I turned the final page. This is definitely a five star read. If you haven’t read The Demon’s Lexicon yet, where have you been? Get on to that now, as these books are so laden with twists that my review may spoil the start of the series for you.