Atticus O’Sullivan is the last of the Druids, surviving for over two thousand years after the decimation of his people on his wit, skill and a healthy dose of pure luck. Despite his actual age, Atticus has used his knowledge of nature and herbs to maintain the appearance and fitness of a man in his twenties. Currently settled in the Arizona desert, Atticus has settled for the time being, content to operate a small ‘new age’ book and tea store.

Over the years Atticus has built up a fair number of allies of the supernatural and godly nature. However by the same token he has also collected an equally fair number of enemies. Not least of which is Aenghus Og, a Celtic god looking for some paypack a few centuries after Atticus stole the sword Fragarach, a powerful weapon known also known as “The Answer” which anyone with the blade held to their skin is forced to tell the truth.

With Aenghus teaming up with a coven of Polish witches willing to call up demons, Atticus needs to call in some friends of his own. With an Icelandic vampire/lawyer, a pack of Viking werewolves, a bartender possessed by a dead Hindu witch, and his faithful wolfhound Oberon Atticus just might be able to survive a few more decades.

A successful first book in a new urban fantasy series, The Iron Druid Chronicles is is definitely a series that will stay on my to-read list. Fun, fast paced and full of witty snark, Hearne’s books are a must for fans of series like ‘The Dresden Files’. Recommended for mature readers due to some content.

It’s 1927 in Manhattan, and in this alternate history of the Big Apple during the “roaring twenties” the city is spiraling into a decadent and violent decline. A mysterious mobster known only as the Roman has been methodically taking control of the city. His only calling card, a Roman coin so pristine it could have been minted the day before.

The police, particularly the hardworking and honest detective Felix Donovan, are stumped by the lack of clues. Now it seems that man-shaped golems made of moss and metal are working for the Roman. Detective must find and rely on the secretive vigilante known only as the Ghost, someone whose hands are not tied by the law and can play the game as rough as the Roman and his men do.

A Jazz Age steampunk, Ghosts of Manhattan is bound to remind you comic book favorite, Batman. For me it took some time to get into, but once I was in, I was pleasantly hooked. Recommended for mature readers due to some content.

Want to Go Private? is a cautionary tale for the twenty-first century.  Abby is your average High School freshman, anxious over the impending first day.  She’s not into hair, clothes and make-up like her bff Faith.  Her home life isn’t great.  No one really “gets” her.  No one listens to her.  No one like Luke, the boy she’s been chatting with on chezteen.com.

We all know where this is going, right?  I was cringing as I witnessed Abby get pulled into the façade of an online predator.  Abby eventually agrees to meet her dream boy and discovers he isn’t all he appeared.  Kidnapped and sexually assaulted, her nightmare goes from terrible to horrendous when she discovers her intimate moments were filmed and posted to the web.  Abby now has to deal with the guilt, stigma and embarrassment of her ordeal along with the cruel fact that Luke, the boy she fell in love with, doesn’t really exist.

Abby was a smart girl and she was fooled, showing how this can happen to anyone.  This is a very relevant topic laid bare as a warning to those that navigate the web.  Check out www.chezteen.com for more tips on internet safety.

Lark Austin was murdered.  She was brutally attacked and left tied to a tree, left to die from exposure in the frozen Virginia forest.  This story is not really about Lark, but more about two of her former friends.  Eve used to be close with Lark, sharing a love of swimming until events made her quit.  Plagued by guilt, Eve wonders what might have been if she had been there for Lark.  Nyetta is also plagued-by the ghost of Lark, her former babysitter.  Unable to rest in peace, Lark’s spirit is rooted to the tree she died under.

As her memory fades and her killer goes unpunished, Lark transforms into the tree.  She is surrounded by the souls of others that have met similar fates, all trapped in their wooden coffins.  Unable to come to terms with what she is experiencing, Nyetta reaches out to Eve.  Together they acknowledge what has happened to their friend to set her soul free.

A quick, compelling read, Lark really makes an impact.  I read the whole book in one sitting, quickly propelling myself towards the satisfying conclusion.  A must for fans of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones or Katie Williams’s The Space Between Trees.

Fresh faced Rory Deveaux has arrived from Louisiana, eager to begin her senior year in London.  Adjusting to life in a foreign city is the least of her problems. Rory’s British debut coincides with a series of brutal murders.  Rippermaina has gripped London as these copycat killings take place on the same dates and locations as Jack the Ripper’s infamous crimes 123 years earlier.  Rory soon finds herself in the midst of the investigations as the only possible witness to one of the crimes.

Filled with atmospheric detail, London comes alive as we share Rory’s experiences in the fog filled, cobbled streets.  Peppered with just the right amount of supernatural elements and a hint of romance, The Name of the Star is another win from Johnson.  I look forward to the next installment in the Shades of London series.

Warning: may contain spoilers!

Madison Avery is dead, technically, but that hasn’t stopped her yet. Since becoming the Dark Timekeeper Madison has been very busy. As Dark Timekeeper it’s her responsibility to send out Dark Reapers to collect the souls of those who have lost their way in hopes to preserve the soul to be reborn. Madison’s only problem with this; those with lost souls have to be killed in the process.

With the help of Barnabas; a fallen Light Reaper, Nikita; a tainted Dark Reaper, and Josh; one of her classmates, Madison is desperately searching for a loophole in the millennia-long practices of the Dark and Light Reapers. But breaking habits that old is not going to be easy. Not with her own Reapers and the Light Timekeeper constantly trying to undermine (if not outright sabotage) all of her efforts. And before the end, someone close to Madison will have to make a decision that could help her cause or end her status as Timekeeper – permanently.

David has everything a teen could hope for, wealth and fantastic social standing. But like other teens his age David suffers from ‘disassociation’, when a classmate commits suicide over a webcam broadcast he and everyone else who witnessed it barely react. Charlie is the polar opposite of David, he and his father live off the grid and are barely scraping by.

When David’s parents discover that he witnessed the suicide and did nothing to report it, they attempt a most unusual therapy at the suggestion of the school counselor; get David a Companion Robot to help him relearn how to connect with others. Rose is the ideal teen girl, and David is instantly infatuated, but Rose has a built in Intimacy Clock that dictates how close the two can be. But when David realizes that Rose isn’t a real girl and lacks “girl parts” he rejects her. Rose, who is programmed to love David, is at a loss and contemplates self-destruction. Until she meets Charlie, who offers to help her find a way to get reprogrammed, forget David, and maybe become a real girl.

Bittersweet, Girl Parts is an oddly satisfying read despite its rather unusual plot. Watching each of the teens, especially David, Rose and Charlie, learn how to connect and reconnect to the world will keep you reading. Due to some elements in the book it is recommended for mature readers.

Nick Gautier survived the zombie attacks from Infinity, only to find himself permanently part of the supernatural underworld. Now in the employ of Kyrian, a Dark-Hunter, Nick is surrounded by vampires, shapeshifters and demons. Some of them want to protect him, while others want nothing more than to see Nick dead.

Also Ambrose, who claims to be an uncle, has been arranging for some of the darkest, scariest beings in the known world to train Nick how to use his powers. Especially his rumored abilities to raise the dead; since if he can’t get it under control he’ll be dead too.

Sequel to Infinity, Invisible finally gets around to explaining some of the background to the series. Unless you’ve read Kenyon adult Dark-Hunters series many things from this young adult prequel series can be very confusing.

Warning: contains spoilers!

After the events of Silver Phoenix and the defeat of dark sorcerer Zhong Ye, Ai Ling has tried to settle down back at home with her family. But when the mysterious powers that sparked her journey the first time show a dream in which Chen Yong leaves to find his biological father, Ai Ling knows that she must find a way join him.

Despite the risk, Ai Ling sneaks abroad the ship Cheng Yong is sailing on. However when she is caught, the two are forced to lie, claiming that they are siblings to keep Ai Ling from getting tossed overboard by the crew.

When Ai Ling’s powers begin to flair out of control and she is bombarded with memories that seem to belong to Zhong Ye the two become concerned that perhaps the sorcerer is not really dead. In order to protect Cheng Yong, Ai Ling must find a way into the underworld to find and confront Zheng Yong for the last time.

An excellent sequel to Silver Phoenix, Fury of the Phoenix brings Ai Ling’s story to a very satisfying conclusion. This series is a good choice for romantic fantasy fans.

Warning: may contain spoilers!

After the events of Rise of the Huntress apprentice spook Tom, Mr. Gregory and Alice have no choice but to flee again. Despite what they were able to accomplish on Mona, the island is still no safe place for a spook. Now the trio must make their way to Ireland, but Ireland has its own particular danger that Tom has been dreading since his time training with Bill Arkwright. Ireland is the home of the Morrigan, a terrifying goddess of witches, and she has warned Tom to never set foot in her home.

Tom, Mr. Gregory and Alice manage to find work as Ireland is woeful short on spooks, until news of their efforts reach one of the country’s landowners who offers them a larger task that the small ghosts and nuisances they had been dealing with. Now the three are helping the landowners find a way to finally stop of the witch clans of Ireland from tapping into and stealing the powers of the gods, in particular Pan.

But it won’t only be the witches that Tom will have to face. He must also find a way to avoid or deal with the Morrigan, who wants nothing more than to kill Tom for the offense against her. And as if that wasn’t enough, it would seem that the blood jar Alice made is beginning to fail, and if it does Tom will have to fight the Fiend again.