Announcing Harlequin Teen and 2 Book Reviews

Earlier this summer, Harlequin announced that they would be starting a teen imprint.  I was supremely excited for two reasons.  One, Harlequin is one of the only publishers (if not the only publisher) that has been making money in this recession.  Clearly, they know what people like and they are savvy about their book deals and book marketing.  Two, Harlequin Teen signing on some blockbuster authors, including Gena Showalter, P.C. Cast, Rachel Vincent, and, the author I'm most excited about, Maria V. Snyder.  So far, I've been able to read two of Harlequin Teen's books, My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent and Intertwined by Gena Showalter.  Both are great additions to the fantasy genre and, since I'd never read anything by either author before this, I'll definitely be checking out their adult titles.  See below for my reviews of these two books.  The shortened version?  I ♥ Harlequin Teen.

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
(Harlequin Teen, Paperback, 2009)
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Kaylee Cavanaugh can sense when people around her are about to die and, when that happens, she starts screaming uncontrollably.  Kaylee has tried to keep this hidden her whole life.  Then she meets Nash.  Nash doesn't seem to care that she's a bit odd and, more importantly, he has an explanation for her screams.  My Soul to Take is a fresh, exciting paranormal book where the main character aren't vampires or a werewolves.  Instead, Kaylee and Nash are banshee.  Rachel Vincent weaves mythology and mystery into a romantic tale.  I loved that Kaylee is a powerful banshee, seemingly more so than her male counterpart, although the two must work together to save their friends.  Another great character was the grim reaper, Tod.  Hello, love triangles and a fantastic new series.

Intertwined by Gena Showalter
(Harlequin Teen, Hardcover, 2009)
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Imagine having someone inside your head, talking all day.  Aden has four souls trapped inside him, constantly telling him what to do.  Not that it's all bad.  Aden's souls each have special abilities that have helped save his life in the past.  But when he meets Mary Ann, he doesn't want to stay away because when she's around, he can't hear the souls inside him.  At first, it was hard for me to keep up with who was speaking in Aden's head.  After a couple chapters, though, it became easy to differentiate between the multiple personalities and I marveled at how Gena Showalter was able to highlight each soul to show how Aden was feeling overwhelmed.  It soon became clear that Aden's task was to set the souls free.  Intertwined features a plot line that I can't get out of my mind and characters that I want to read more about.

If you want to learn more about Harlequin Teen, visit their website and their Facebook page.