In 2011 I read 241 books, a mixture of young adult and adult, paranormal, dystopian, love stories, heart wrenching sob stories and urban fantasies. Out of all these books there are four that really captivated and moved me in a way the other books I read last year didn’t. Don’t get me wrong the majority of books I read in 2011 I loved and thought were brilliant, but these four in particular had something different in them that drew me in and the story has been stuck in my head ever since.
You may assume the books I’m talking about are from some well know, highly publicised, marketed to teens, Twilight/Potter type franchise. If I was reading this, I would probably be thinking the same thing. No the books I am talking about are the self published Bloodstone Saga by Courtney Cole.
The series would be classed as a young adult paranormal,something that seems to be used too freely these days, I feel like it is a one size fits all type of term. And yes while the Bloodstone Saga does have paranormal elements to it I just don’t feel like it falls under that category, there are so many different elements to this series I can’t label it under the one genre.
At the age of 25 and having been blogging about young adult paranormal books for a year, most books I read tend to have the same elements in them. Girl meets boy, boy turns out to be some kind of supernatural creature of the night but they fall in love anyway. I enjoy these types of books though and as much as my family laugh at me for reading books aimed at teenagers, I still see myself reading these types of books in ten years time.
I bought and read Every Last Kiss, the first book in the saga back in April 2011. I fell in love almost instantly, it was different from any other paranormal type books I’d previously read.
Instantly from page one Cadmus and Harmonia’s love catches you and draws you in to the rest of the series. Their love is one that transcends time, breaks all the rules and is the type of love that young girls dream about for their own future. Cadmus and Harmonia are two very different people with different opinions, they have individually both had very hard and testing pasts but somehow when they come together in these books it is as if time stands still for them. This is the type of love story I like to read about, not only is there a whole other plot happening around them in the Bloodstone saga which is enough in itself to draw the reader in, there is also their amazing story to take in. With this series it is like getting two stories in one.
Some people may be sceptical about reading self published books. I say look at the success Amanda Hocking has had by self publishing her books. She was the first self published author to earn 1 million dollars and now has a major publishing deal and the movie rights bought for her Trylle trilogy.
I do believe self publishing seems to be changing the way we readers, reviewers, bloggers and general book lovers perceive our opinion of books. Just because a book is priced at 70p on Amazon does not mean it’s going to be crap. In the past year I’ve been amazed at how many free or ridiculously cheap books I’ve got from Amazon for my Kindle and really enjoyed. You do not have to spend a fortune to be entertained these days!
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