All Time Favorite Young Adult Books

When I was attending high school and university, I was obsessed with YA books. I breathed and ate thinking about them, even wrote character names to the steamed bus windows when I was bored (You cannot get more obsessive than this!), followed every book as much as I can. I will always remember those days and those books dearly, though now days I do not prefer reading them much. We grow up eventually (said sh while reading middle grade books).

Below you will see a lot of books belonging to different genres. Most of them belongs o a series known worldwide. Take note of them. They shocked me, made me cry and turned me into a mad woman with their stories and most of all, they stayed with me. I hope that you experience same emotions.

Also, I know that you probably read most of them like me but I am sure you can find at least one or two you did not read previously. If you have any books you want to suggest to YA lovers, comment section is for you!

Note: By clicking the pictures, you can visit the Goodreads pages belong to the book.

❀ Story Magic by Laurel Gale ❀

Laurel Gale's middle grade book Story Magic is a creative, easy to follow and captivates reader from its first page.

In a world where magic is done by telling stories, Kaya (12 years old heroine) searches her only remaining family member: Hob. 18 years old Hob works at Story Magicians Guild and takes care his sister since their parents died several years ago. He also teaches Kaya the secrets of Guild, though it is forbidden for women and outsiders to dabble with storytelling magic.

But according to the Story Magicians Guild, it was bad luck for a girl to attempt magic. It angered the listeners, they claimed. It led to disaster.

 

In this world, when invisible Listeners are close, you can make magic by weaving a nice story. You can either call them by burning incense or feel them by the tingle in your nape of neck. But if they don't like your story, it is said to have consequences.

When Kaya's brother fails to come home one day, Kaya searches for him and she learns that he is arrested and will be executed in a big city named Prima. Kaya is determined to find her brother but she has no money and no home and no help. Also she learns that he is taken to a HQ of Guild. So she starts to a dangerous journey and meets lots of folks. With the help of her story weaving, she reaches Prima and realizes that she has no plan. 

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

Note to the reader: This review contain spoilers about previous books and about Emerald Blaze.

Emerald Blaze is the fifth book of Hidden Legacy series and tells the story of Catalina Baylor and Alessandro Sagredo as the fourth book. It is packed with murders, monsters, amazing prime powers and a long awaited romance and gives the reader what they desire.

As we all remember, in the Wildfire, Baylors were tested by House of Records for their powers. A family to become a House, it needs to have three primes. Each sister of Baylor family had different tests because they have different powers and Catalina's power degree is observed on Alessandro who is a Prime Antistasi. He is introduced as the spoiled, handsome and rich prince of the House Sagredo. They were smitten with each other from first sight but since Catalina's power makes people murderous slaves, she did not seek a relationship with him for his safety.

In the Sapphire Flames, fourth book of Hidden Legacy series, Catalina crosses paths with Alessandro again and they work together but this time it is not easy to ignore the pull they feel for each other. Along the way Catalina is appointed as the Deputy of Texas Warden and she is forced to promise her terrifying Truthseeker grandmother Victoria Tremaine that she will not marry into another house to save Alessandro from enemy.

If they chase a relationship, Catalina will have to join to House Sagredo since Alessandro is a Prime and will be the head of the house one day. So her relationship with Alessandro is doomed from start.

The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith

The Vine Witch is a heart-warming, magical, mysterious and beautiful book. It does not solely take its power from magic, but creates a nice world, and characters. Also has a dark side since it touches the sufferers of witch trials.

The Vine Witch is set France, Château Renard around (I guess) 1910s or 1920s, maybe 1930s. It tells the story of a young witch, who is cursed and turned into a toad. After seven years of eating this and that, she finally eats her poisonous skin and she breaks the curse and returns to her home Château Renard (No kisses here for you folks, no pervert fairy tales!), to make vine again with her old grandmother. Since she is a vine witch and it is her thing.

After Elena gains her memory, she blames her ill fate to her ex fiance because this curse befall on her after she broke the engagement with him. But when she reaches home, she learns that everything got a turn toward the bad side. Renown with its vines, Château Renard had been sold to a non-believer Jean-Paul Martel because of debts and there are curses lying around vineyard and spoiling the product.

Being linked to Château Renard deeply, Elena is determined to restore Château Renard's glory with the help of old lawyer Jean-Paul Martel but she must do it without drawing suspicion since her ex might still hurt her. 

Also there are mysterious killings around the town and she is the only newcomer witch around...

Grave Secrets by Alice James

Grave Secrets is a entertaining page-turner. This is what we are looking when we want to read some light UF with a topping of romance. Also expensive cars, looots of drinking and not whining narrator.

Grave Secrets is about a real estate agent/necromancer woman Lavington (Toni) Windsor. She occupies her grandfather's house. She lives in a world where vampires came out of closet several years ago and made legal citizens in the certain parts of the world approximately four years ago. Europe, being the center of civilisation, accepted them but America preferred a stake to heart approach because of a bad vampire group.

Toni learned methods of necromancy from her grandfather but it is really about power, so her cop brother Will does not have her gift. Every night she rises the dead out of compulsion and sometimes she helps her brother to solve murders by calling the dead ones from grave or morgue table.

When a vampire named Oscar asks her services for a house, Toni is attacked by an anti vampire group, luckily she holds her own and survives with several scratches but mysteriously there are murders and a blooming romance and savage vampires that came from America.