"Be will to take the hard road. That's the lesson I want the children to bring home from the Titanic. Not that God can kill you with an iceberg if you cross the ocean. What they should be learning is that we must never follow people into anything we believe may lead to evil." -George Tulloch

Pellegrino is my favorite non-fiction author for his ability to talk about history and science and archaeology in a way that makes it real. This book shares the stories of that fateful night the Titanic sank, presents diagrams, puts forth theories, and takes you down to the depths in a submersible to see the wreckage and what can be learned from it. It's fascinating and tragic in the way that only non-fiction can be when it is written at a time when you can just as easily explore a site as you can talk to survivors.

When a stranger comes to the town of Near and children start disappearing, Lexi is the only one in town who doesn't blame him. As her feelings for Cole grow, so does the fear of the townspeople, and only facing Near's dark past can save them. Schwab writes beautifully and her suspense is top notch. I just wish this story had more substance, more subplots, and a longer timeline to explain the quick romance. Would recommend to fans of Keturah and Lord Death.

Amy is an unlikable heroine: she cheated on her husband with her now-dead best friend, she goes to Paris without telling him, she has no friends because she is so self-involved, and she (spoiler not really a spoiler you know what kind of book this is) breaks up with her husband because he very reasonably gets mad that she went to Paris without telling him. Despite this, the story itself is well-written and funny and even, at times, realistic.

I won't lie, I listened to the audiobook and felt a frisson of excitement every time the enticingly-voiced British narrator pronounced Stephanie, the main character's (and my) name. Spelling means nothing in audiobooks, and I was happy to pretend to be jaunting alongside Skulduggery Pleasant. Because, who wouldn't? Skulduggery Pleasant is a skeleton, held together by some undefinable combination of magic and sarcasm, and he is a madcap detective trying to save the world and keep his friends alive. This was a great adventure filled with humor and truth and darkness.

Not having read a menage book before, I wasn't sure what to expect. I wondered how Jameson would deal with jealousy, something I assumed to be an issue. Her answer was to throw wolves at the problem and explain that everything works out because of wolf bonding. Hell yes, I decided, bring on the wolves.

This book is sexy as hell.

I don't like stories told in flashbacks, I don't like 45-year-old men who call their sisters "Mama" and can't make their own breakfast, I don't like stories about abused children, and I don't like fucked up adults trying to have a romance when they really need fuckloads of therapy.

This is a London where things disappear, where magic is called "knacking," where iPods protect you, where cults might save your life, where tattoos can be sentient -- basically, this a London that is pretty fucked up. Mieville always manages to make the most absurd things seem logical because he starts in a small corner of the picture and backs up slowly so by the time the story ends you close the book more than slightly disappointed that the ocean will not actually respond to bottle messages and there are no creepy angels protecting museums. This book is undoubtedly weird, and I'm not sure what type of person to recommend it to, but if weird is your thing, check it out.

Valkyrie has learned a lot of new skills and Skulduggery has lost none of his sarcastic charm in this second volume. The world is once again in peril from ancient gods, and it is a race to find out who to trust. I like the realism in Valkyrie's pleasure at living an unusual life as well as her melancholy at never seeing her family or having friends her age, and I love her parents. China Sorrows is always a delight and Tanith Low (I don't know if I'm spelling that correctly, I listened to the audiobook) is my absolute favorite. A fun audiobook with a great narrator.

A haunting, melancholy tale. This is the story of a boy who survived abuse without ever realizing it, describing his trauma in the form of nature, a wolf, a curse, unable to come to terms with his past. This is a story of growing up, surviving, finding friends. This is a story to break your heart.