Hand Over That Book, Please!! I

You've probably noticed that my reviews are coming in fewer and far between. And that's mostly because the YA books I've been picking up haven't been doing anything for me lately. I want something spectacular, something incredible! I'm tired of the three down to two-star books that come my way.

That got me brainstorming. What do I like, look for in a book? What are the things that make me go crazy? Have me going into a frenzy in search of That Perfect Book? And here's what I've come up with:

Genre:

Paranormal Romance

Paranormal Romance is what introduced me to YA books and made me fall in love with the genre. My mother could tell you--I hated reading. It was uncool, totally lame, and most of all BORING. I couldn't grasp the magic of it, understand why my mom and little sister were so ridiculously entrenched in books. (Now look at me. Looks like the joke's on me.)

 

My mom had been slowly getting me to read, picking books out here and there that my romantic soul could not ignore. But it was L.J. Smith's Nightworld series that really set the ball rolling. 

Vampires and shape-shifters and witches, oh my! 

One moment I detested reading and the next my nose was firmly glued to these books. I couldn't put them down, devouring them at incredible speeds that had people around me blinking incredulously. I was never an avid reader, until then.  

Secret Vampire had one my most favorite types of romance--the Best Friend Turned Something More. Turned soulmates to be exact. And from then on, I was hooked. I gobbled this series up and went on the hunt for other L.J. Smith books to sate my hunger for this stuff.

Then along came the Dark Visions trilogy and the Secret Circle series (one of my all time favorites!) and the rest was history...

The sad thing is that now, I'm having trouble not to puke. 

THE INSTALUV TOTALLY KILLS IT.

These are the first, would-have-been-great stories that came to mind. If these books hadn't been so focused on the romances that did nothing for me, they would've been wonderful. But, its books like these that leave me frustrated with this sub-genre. What started out as one of my favorite sub-genres has now become something to be wary of. I find myself being extra careful when I pick out related books now.

But, wait, you still have us! 

 

These books I cuddle close, they're so amazing. Romance and all, for the most part. These books are the ones that give me hope for PRs, because they're so incredible. I want to find more like them! (Recommendations are totally welcome!)

Historical Fiction/Romance

 

Believe it or not, I don't come across that many HFs. And I ADORE them. There's almost nothing like being whisked away to another time period, falling in love with a hunk that's been long dead in your time, and learning about the time period. 

It rarely matters where we're going, so long as its some place in some time that's captivating. Time traveling is an added bonus, because that makes it even more interesting (and throwing in a battle or two couldn't hurt--you know, with the swords and armor and all). I want more well-written, exciting Historical Fictions (especially with my River of Time series coming to dreaded, though highly anticipated closing)!!

High Fantasy

This is a horrible thing to admit, but I've never read The Lord of the Rings (except The Hobbit) or *cringes* the Harry Potter series. *ducks* I know you're like WHAAAA?!! And believe me I can't quite understand it myself since I loooove this kind of stuff, you know medeval questing, sorcery, evil flaming eyes. Now, Narnia's where I draw the line. I COULD NOT get into those books, no matter how hard I tried. But I'm determined to read the Harry Potter series, especially since *sniffles* the movies are over, Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and Cinda Williams Chima's The Seven Realms series.

Urban Fantasy

Give me a cool and unique boarding school, or supernatural hunters, etc. in whatever city/town where the fate of the world rests with these teens and a kick-ass plot, then I'm sold. And if there's a Tucker (Unearthly) or a Stark (House of Night) somewhere, I'm so there.

Romantic Comedy/Realistic Fiction

RCs are one of my favorite sub-genres to read about. But lately it's been ridiculously difficult to track down many good ones.

 

Any suggestions?

Dystopian

I go absolutely gaga for dystopian thrillers. I love the dark, gritty worlds they're usually set in and the characters that are, for the most part, epic (including the hot guys that also seem to be part of the trend). I wish more of these would find their way into my lap.

 

I intend to read Enclave by Ann Aguirre soon, to satisfy my craving for this category. But I need more!

Look out for next week's Fictional Settings that make me want to read a book in Hand Over That Book, Please!! II What are YOUR favorite genres to read?