Here’s a list of five books that I think need to be further appreciated, in the YA world.

5. Wintersong (Wintersong #1) by S. Jae-Jones.

Wintersong is one of the best retellings/fantasy I’ve ever read.

My review can be found here.

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world.

 

4. Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis 

You’ve probably heard everybody, including me, rave about the Illuminae files (Book 1 and 2). But have you heard of Across the Universe? For me, this is the best sci-fi series I’ve ever read. 

I’ve reviewed books two and three.

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder. 

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship —tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. 

 

3. Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side(Jessica #1) by Beth Fantaskey 

I don’t usually pull all-nighters for books, but this book truly was one I couldn’t put down. It was such a fun and angsty vampire read! The summary sounds crap, but this story is the sweetest ❤ ❤ ❤

I wrote an emotional review on this blog.

The undead can really screw up your senior year …

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction. 

 

2. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (Dash & Lily #1) by Rachel Cohn, and David Levithan

I read this book about two years ago. Not a Christmas, even though it was a very Christmassy kind of book. I found this to have the most authentic contemporary YA voices I’ve ever read, without sounding pretentious *cough, cough* John Green.

My review to the original and the sequel are on my blog.

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a cosmic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

 

And finally, on the top of the list we have…

 

1. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

I don’t ever read horrors or thrillers, but I adored every single one of Fitzpatrick’s Hush, Hush series  the knock-off angel Twilight adaption. So when I stumbled across this in my local library, I knew I had to check it out. Many people expect the same sort of characters in this book, which is why I think many rated it lowly, but I loved the change and new elements of darkness from Black Ice. 

You can read my review here on my Goodreads. Basically; I wish I could forget the story and reread it again. 

Britt Phieffer has never been that adventurous, but that’s about to change. Wanting to impress her ex-boyfriend, Britt convinces best friend, Korbie, to take a trip with her and go trekking through the Grand Teton Mountains in Wyoming.
But when a freak storm leaves the girls stranded they seek shelter in a cabin, and find two knights in shining armour, Shaun and Mason, who are also hiding out.

But all is not as it seems, and Britt quickly discovers that the guys are there for reasons other than hiking…dangerous reasons that mean they need to get off the mountain, fast. In exchange for her life, Britt is forced to guide them down, and as they set out on a harrowing journey through the cold and snow, Britt realises the only way to get out of this alive is to pretend she is on their side. 

But playing nice is hard, especially when Britt is unsure whether Mason, gorgeous and sexy, is the enemy or an ally. And as she begins to lose track of who is in control it is only a matter of time before things turn deadly…

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So there you guys have it! Have you read any from my list?

 

What’s an underrated YA book that wasn’t mentioned on this list?