I am really enjoying this series!

Novel - The Sorceress The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #3
Author - Michael Scott
Publisher - Ember
Pages - 512
Source - Borrowed from the school library

Nicholas, Josh and Sophie find themselves in the middle of London surrounded by enemies without any means of protection.  Perenelle has finally achieved a semblance of freedom on Alcatraz, however Nereus and the Nereids still keep her from reaching the shores of San Francisco.  Dee and Machiavelli, having seen both of the twins awakened powers put to use on the top of Notre Dame, have been ordered to capture them at any cost and by any means necessary regardless of the cost of life.  The Dark Elders have decreed the Flamel's deaths and the capture of the legendary twins and have called in favors, from beings even older than themselves, to accomplish their task!

Love this book and series.  My students and school media specialist were totally right, they are great!  They are so hard to put down.  I want to read them when I should be grading papers! :)  Also, the author gave background knowledge on Stonehege in the back on this one which I found really interesting.

Book #2 down!

Novel - The Magician The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2
Author - Michael Scott
Publisher - Ember
Pages - 496
Source - Borrowed from the school library

Immortal human alchemist Nicholas Flamel and vampire warrior Scathach, along with Sophie and Josh have made it to Paris where they are being chased by Niccolò Machiavelli and Dr. John Dee will be flying in shortly.  They barely escaped with their lives from San Francisco and had to leave Perenelle, Nicholas' beloved wife, behind as prisoner of Dee.  The twins are having a hard time dealing with the fact that their entire lives have changed within the scope of a mere two days, especially Josh.  He is extremely jealous of his sister's newly awakened powers.  It doesn't help that seeds were planted by dark forces that make him think badly of his companions.  With the help of other immortal humans they evade capture from multitudes of police and monsters only know to myth and meet up with Elders who may help or harm them as the Elders see fit!  The story takes us intermittently from Paris to San Francisco where we find out the fate of Perenelle where she is being kept prisoner on Alcatraz.

A very engrossing read.  I was trying to do schoolwork, but kept picking up the book instead!  I also enjoy the fact that at the end of the novel the author has factual knowledge about actual places that occur in his books.  In the first novel he talked about how the house of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel is actually still standing in Paris and has been made into a restaurant.  This time he speaks of the catacombs underneath Paris and how they hold millions of skeletal remains, that were arranged by unknown persons, to honor the dead.

I found a new young adult series that I like!

Novel: The Alchemyst The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1
Author: Michael Scott
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 369
Source: Borrowed from the school library

Sophie and Josh Newman are 15 year-old twins living in San Francisco.  She works in a tea shop and he works in an antique book shop for a man named Nick Fleming.  Sophie looks out the shop window and sees men wearing full trench coats in middle of summer walk into the book shop.  When Josh begins smelling rotten eggs, he goes to investigate and sees Nick and another man throwing glowing balls of energy at each other.  It turns out that Nick Fleming is actually Nickolas Flamel who was born in Paris in 1330 and supposedly had died in 1418.  However, his tomb in Paris is empty and now he is living and fighting for his life in San Francisco!

I really like it when you find a new series that has been going for a while and you can binge read without stopping!  There are six books in this series so far and I love that my school library has all of them for me to borrow!  I've already started number two.  I know these are popular with my students right now.  When I first heard about them I thought they were someone writing about the character from Harry Potter, but I'm so glad to find out that I was wrong!  This is a very enjoyable young adult series.  I would love to add it to my classroom library.

I finished this one about a week ago and must have forgot to blog it! Whoops!

Here's the newest addition to the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.  This is a series that was recommended to me by my cousin during the past few years and has come to be a favorite that I reread many times.  For those of you unfamiliar with the series, here is a quote from Patricia Briggs website to give you a little background:

Mercedes is Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Her Native American heritage has gifted her with the ability to take the form of a coyote at will. She's surrounded by far more powerful supernatural beings, including werewolves, vampires and an assortment of fey.
For more information, you can check out her website at: http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/

Novel: Shifting Shadows  Mercy Thompson Series #9
Author: Patricia Briggs
Publisher: Ace Books
Pages: 450
Source:  I purchased

This book is a compilation of all the short stories that take place in the world of Mercy Thompson.

Silver - *New story!*  This is the background story of Samuel Cornick and how he meets Ariana.  Their story continues in the book Silver Bourne.  It also gives more information as to the story of how Samuel and his father became werewolves and the beginning of their lives under the rule of Samuels' grandmother who was a witch.

Fairy Gifts - This story is about Thomas a Chinese vampire who returns to the place where he was turned a century before.  I'm not sure how this story works into the world of Mercy Thompson except for the fact that Patricia Briggs wrote it and she has vampires in the Mercy Thompson series as well.

Gray - Elyna returns to Chicago to the apartment turned condo that she had shared with her husband before she became a vampire and was forced to leave town because of what happened when she turned.  Since vampires are territorial she returns to claim her territory and everything that comes with it.

Seeing Eye - Moira Keller is a good witch who appeared in Ms. Briggs' Alpha and Omega Series.  When Tom Franklin, second of the Emerald City werewolf pack, knocks on her door seeking help to find his missing brother, he gets more than he bargained for!

Alpha and Omega - This is the story that begins the Alpha and Omega series of books.  It gives us background on Anna, who is a very special kind of werewolf called an Omega.  We also find out more information about Charles Cornick, brother of Samuel and son of Bran who is leader of all the werewolves of North America.  Charles comes to investigate why werewolves are being turned and then disappearing.

The Star of David - David Christiansen was a former Army Ranger who served with Mercy's neighbor Adam Hauptman.  Adam and David were forcibly changed into werewolves while serving in Vietnam.  In this story, it is Christmastime and David is nostalgic of old times when he was with his sons, but misses his daughter who hasn't spoken to him since an event shortly after returning stateside.  When Stella calls David drops everything for his Star.

Roses in Winter - *New story!*  Kara is the youngest person to survive being attacked by a werewolf and then transitioning into one herself.  Her situation was made known to us in the story Blood Bound, but we never heard what happened afterwards.  Kara has difficulty controlling her transition from human to wolf and back.  She is staying with Bran, but she turns to Asil, the Moore, who is one of the oldest werewolves alive and is struggling to control his own inner wolf.

In Red, With Pearls - Warren, Beta of the Columbia Basin pack (Adam Hauptman is Alpha) is a gay, dominant werewolf who has had to struggle practically everyday for the past century is waiting at the office when a lady in a red dress with pearls walks in asking for his partner.  When Kyle walks in, the magic flies and it all breaks loose!

Redemption - *New story!*  We find Ben, another member of the Columbia Basin pack, at work and see the things that he has to go through since he is the only werewolf there and he has to put up with women.  To make it worse, his alpha made a bet with him that he couldn't stop one of his favorite things - swearing!

Hollow - *New story!*  Mercy, our mechanic, is looking over her garage and trying to figure out what to do with it.  A favor is called in and Mercy has to go investigate a haunted house to try to see if she can save the people in the house before someone else dies.

An addition to one of my favorite series!

Novel: Luck of the Draw  Xanth Series #36
Author: Piers Anthony
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 400
Source:  I purchased

Bryce is a Mundane (regular human) who gets transported to the magical land of Xanth to partake in a quest for the hand of the fair Princess Harmony.  Here's the thing:  He's 80 years old and she's 18!  It's okay though, because he is youthened to the age of 21 to compete against the five other members vying to marry the lovely princess who does not want to marry any of them!  This story takes us back to the punfully marvelous land of Xanth and brings back characters from the past as well as new characters with all kinds of twists and turns for a delightful read.

I LOVE this series!!!  It is one of my all time favorites and I have almost all of them.  They are very engrossing and page turners!  I could reread this series over and over again and never get bored.  Also, I love the way the land of Xanth is shaped like the state of Florida!  I'm sure it makes a difference that this is where Mr. Anthony lives. :)  I started reading these books when I was in high school and haven't stopped.

First post! And here we go.....Mortal Instruments #6 City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

So, I went and bought this book as soon as it came out this summer, but I re-read the entire series before I read #6 so that I wouldn't miss any of the subtle character nuances or plot twists that Ms. Clare adds into her novels.  WARNING! If you haven't read the previous books in the series, you will not understand the back story of this novel.  So follow my example and start at the very beginning, as it's always such a very good place to start. :)  Okay, I'm basing this off my good friend's blogs so, here we go:

Novel: Mortal Instruments Series Book #6 City of Heavenly Fire
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 725
Source: I purchased

Clary Morgenstern, Jace, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood and the other Shadowhunters are back to combat  Sebastian and his evil army of dark Nephilim  known as Endarkened.  They must work together in this dimension and the next to save the ones they love and the fate of every single mortal and magical being on the face of the Earth before Sebastian unleashes the forces of Hell.  Who will make the ultimate sacrifice and will they live or die?

I loved this series. It was great to see how everything ended up. Some things were alluded to that I'm sure were mentioned in her Ms. Clare's other series, The Infernal Devices, which are a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series.  I thought it was wonderfully done and I've tried very hard not to give away any spoilers.  It's more appropriate for upper middle school(8th) and high school, than lower middle school grades.