74.
Title: [Deep Kiss of Winter]
Author: Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter
Pages: 436
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 11, 2012
Rating: **1/2

I've encountered both of these authors with varying success before, and as I approach a paper on paranormal romance I thought jumping into this pairing would be a good step back into the genre.  Both works, as this marketing scheme requires, are loosely related to a single idea used to bind the two stories together, with a bit of fan-girl-fawning over each other in the acknowledgements.  Cole's is certainly the stronger story, although neither is particularly captivating. Fans of either should stick with solo publications.  

75.
Title: [Anna Dressed in Blood]
Author: Kendare Blake
Pages: 320
Genre: YA Horror
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: December 12, 2012
Rating: ****

Anna Dressed in Blood is a true ghost story, of the kind that so often mark a horror enthusiast's early introduction to the genre.  This begins as the kind of story I would "sneak" out of the library and read under the covers, a la Scary Stories to Read in the Dark.  Cas is a ghost-hunter who, like his father, is dedicating his life to sending back murderous spirits.  He takes up the athame after his father ultimately lost who own battle with such a spirit, and with his witch mother travels the country, trying to keep the living safe from the dead.  As has to happen in YA novels, something is different about this ghost - Anna Dressed in Blood - and Cas finds himself with unlikely accomplices, despite his years of solo work. 

Blake wonderfully weaves in traditional ghost stories into this plot, giving audiences the hitchhiker and the haunted house that are so often abandoned after summer camps are a thing of the past.  Anna Dressed in Blood favorably reminds me of I Am Not a Serial Killer, and like the latter has what I'll call an "unnecessary element" that detracts from narrative.  Overall, the book is highly successful, and highly enjoyable. 

76.
Title: [Penelope]
Author: Rebecca Harrington
Pages: 120 read before giving up
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed:
Rating: **

I can understand why people would find this book entertaining, and even why people would like Penelope, the socially awkward and completely human Harvard freshman trying to find her way.  Personally, I found Penelope overly immature and dull, and found the social interactions even less interesting than when I myself was in college.  Penelope is not for me. 

77.
Title: [The Darkest Prison]
Author: Gena Showalter
Pages: ?  LT says 448, but there's no way
Genre: Supernatural Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 13, 2012
Rating: ***

Standard fare. 

78.
Title: [Amittyville Horrible]
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Pages:
Genre:
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 13, 2012
Rating: ****

When Armstrong concluded her Otherwood series with Thirteen she promised fans that this wouldn't be the last they'd see of the characters they'd come to love, and with the novella/short story "Amittyville Horrible" she keeps that promise.  This one follows Jamie, necromancer, as she's roped into another reality special - "for charity."  Like always, Armstrong is consistent with her characters, paces the stories well, and offers a twist I didn't expect.  "Amittyville Horrible" is a very fun read. 

79.
Title: [Delirium]
Author: Lauren Oliver
Pages: 480
Genre: YA Dystopian
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Borrowed from the library
Date Completed: December 17, 2012
Rating: **

Love is identified as a fatal disease, a "cure" is found, and the US closes its borders as it pushes to eradicate human connection in pursuit of "happiness."  Yes, you've stumbled upon a YA dystopian.  And, of course, this means that a rebellion is brewing, and our perfectly plain and unassuming protagonist is in for dangerous romance, rebellion, and chaos. 

Delirium was listed by a colleague as being one of "the best" of the genre, and if this is true then I would have to identify the genre as one that is inherently weak.  The story is trite and the plot devices are shallow; that an author would actually say that love is a disease is sophomoric and uninteresting, overshadowing all that could be redeemable in the narrative.