Reviews, YA books and Anticipated movies!

Fresh Fiction is stricter about the division between editorial and reviewing than my second grade teacher, Sister Baptiste, was about quiet in the classroom. And she wielded a brass ruler. So I was anxiously awaiting the review of my second Casa Dracula novel. Hurray! It came out recently and says, "A hilarious novel with plenty of colorful characters; Midnight Brunch will make you an instant Marta Acosta fan."

The publishing world is astonished at the tremendous success of Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse. I'd given her first novel, Twilight, to a teenage pal of mine. The day after Eclipse came out, I called her from a bookstore to see if she wanted it. She said excitedly, "I got it yesterday. I'm on the last chapter."

Those who are looking for a new young adult vamp series might check out Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Richelle is the author of Succubus Blues, which got rave reviews. I'm going to pick up a copy of Vampire Academy for my teen friend -- but there's a strong possibility I'll read it before she gets it. Visit Richelle's website to read an excerpt, which begins with the chilling line: "I felt her fear before I heard her screams."

More teen vampire reads are offered by the mother-daughter team of PC Cast and Kristin Cast and their House of Night series. Marked came out in May, and Betrayed will be available in October. The series follows 16-year-old Zoe Redbird's education as a vampire at the mysterious House of Night.

Rebecca York, aka the prolific Ruth Glick, is one of the writers crossing genres of paranormal and sci-fi with her latest, New Moon. Fresh Fiction says this werewolf romance will "leave you wanting much, much more."

Fans of Sherrilyn Kenyan's Dark-Hunter series will be happy to know her eleventh, Devil May Cry, is now available. If you're new to the series, you can catch up on the action with Sherrilyn's description of the world of the Dark-Hunters.

You know how you get all psyched about a movie and then the reviews come out and critics totally trash it? Yeah, well, there can be some fun in that, too. As I reported on my blog, Vampire Wire, the hatred for the recent shapeshifter movie "Skinwalkers" was universal. As one review said, "Revel in the cheese."

I'm still looking forward to "30 Days of Night", a movie about an Alaskan town that is set upon by vampires on an extended feeding frenzy. However, since Josh Hartnett says it's "very, very scary," I might have to cover my eyes for most of it.

See you in two weeks!
Marta
martaacosta.com