Fancy Pants by Cathy Marie Hake

SYNOPSIS:  Sydney is about to marry a man she can't stand.  Instead she decides to seek sanctuary with her estranged uncle, who owns a ranch.  However, through a misunderstanding, as well as desperate circumstances, she ends up disguising herself as a ranch hand and working on his ranch instead.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  This book was cheesy and predictable.  It wasn't really my style.  Also, it had a strong Christian theme, which may turn off some readers.  However, for fans of romantic historical fiction without distasteful content, this could be a fun read.

RATING:  PG

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults and Adults

STARS:  2 1/2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Sarah's Garden, The Measure of a Lady

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

SYNOPSIS:  This story follows two young magicians who are unwittingly placed opposite each other in a magician's duel.  They work together to create a circus that dreams are made of.  In the process, they fall in love.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  The imagery in this book is amazing.  It's like a whole other world.  However, it is an adult book, and has strong language (and by that, I mean that the "F" word is used once), as well as some violence and strong sensuality.  

RATING:  PG13 for Violence, Sensuality, and strong language

AUDIENCE:  Adults

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  It reminded me of the movie The Illusionist, or maybe The Invention of Hugo Cabret for adult audiences.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

SYNOPSIS:  Rhine lives in a time when diseases are a thing of the past.  However, women no longer live past 20, and men no longer live past 25.  When they reach those ages, they become ill and die.  Because of the rarety of women in child-bearing years, girls are often kidnapped, and forced into plural marriage, so that they can have children before they die.  This is exactly what happens to Rhine, and she tries to escape so that she can find her twin brother and be free again.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  This story is well-told and exciting.  I enjoyed it, and read the second book in the trilogy, also.  However, because of the subject matter (polygamy), it had some sensuality, and what I would consider a sexual predator in it.  For that reason, I would reserve the book for Young Adult readers.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence, and Sensuality

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Divergent, The Host

For updates on later books in this trilogy, click here.

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

SYNOPSIS:  Everyone is shaken when a girl from Kendall's school disappears.  When her best friend Nico starts acting strange, she is caught up in a mystery that will draw her into dangerous territory.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  This book was thrilling and scary.  There was some language, as well as some violence and disturbing imagery, so I would recommend this only for older readers.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence and Language

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  13 Days to Midnight, The Face on the Milk Carton

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

SYNOPSIS:  John is a soldier who has very little to tie him down.  While on leave, he meets Savannah, and they fall into a whirlwind romance.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  There is a lot of buzz about Nicholas Sparks, so I wanted to try out some of his books, but after sampling a few of his books, I don't think I will try any more, because his books are essentially romance novels, sometimes with strong sensuality, and I'm not a fan.  I would give the same rating for The Lucky One, but A Walk to Remember and The Last Song were somewhat milder.

RATING:  PG13 for strong Sensuality

AUDIENCE:  Adults (Young Adults for A Walk to Remember and The Last Song)

STARS:  2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  The Lucky One

Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

SYNOPSIS:  Cecilia knows she is a princess.  For her protection, she has lived in hiding until she will be ready to return to the throne.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I thought this was a fun fairy-tale type story.  It had adventure and mystery, without any content that would be inappropriate for younger readers.

RATING:  PG

AUDIENCE:  Pre-Teen

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Ever, Goose Girl

13 Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

SYNOPSIS:  Jacob Fielding finds he is indestructible, after his foster dad tells him so right before they crash head-on into a tree.  Jacob walks away without a scratch, while  his foster dad is killed.  He and his friends Ophelia and Milo discover that the gift can be transferred from one person to another, with dangerous consequences.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I was thinking this book would be an adventure featuring a teen with superpowers.  However it was much darker than that.  In the end, it was more like a thriller, with demonic characters who had evil motives.  For that reason, along with sensuality, I would be reluctant to recommend this book, and would only do so for more mature readers.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence and Sensuality

AUDIENCE:  Young Adult

STARS:  2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  I am Number Four, Cryer's Cross

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

SYNOPSIS:  Colin is attracted to girls named Katherine.  After a breakup with his 19th Katherine, he goes on a journey with his friend Hassan to forget her.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I will openly admit that I didn't read this book all the way.  I read a little bit at the beginning, and found out that it was not what I had imagined.  There was a lot of crude humor in it, and sexual jokes, and I was offended to the point of not finishing it.  I wanted to list it here on my blog so that someone else will know what they are getting into before starting on it.

RATING:  PG13 or R (like I said, I didn't finish it, but it was going down that road.) for sensuality and crude humor

AUDIENCE:  Adult

STARS:  0

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

SYNOPSIS:  Princess Rose is under a curse, which requires her and her sisters to dance with the sons of King Under Stone, who lives below the earth.  A returned solder, Galen, tries to discover their secret so he can rescue them.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  A fun retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," although it wasn't really original in my opinion.  There was some violence and scary imagery, but otherwise, I think it would be well suited for teens, and even pre-teens.

RATING:  PG with Violence

AUDIENCE:  Teens

STARS:  3

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Entwined, A Posse of Princesses

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

SYNOPSIS:  Auden is living with her mother, but decides to visit her dad and stepmom after they have a new baby.  While living with them, she meets a biker with a sad past.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  Honestly, I didn't have much patience for this book.  I'm not huge on teen angst and drama.  Plus, there was some sensuality and language.  So I wouldn't recommend this one, and I'm not too impressed with Sarah Dessen either.

RATING:  PG13 for Sensuality and Language

AUDIENCE:  Teens and Young Adults

STARS:  2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Twilight, The Luxe