There's something about magical stories that will always, always, always speak to me. It doesn't matter if I'm 28 or 48…I think that a good fantasy novel will always have my heart, regardless of the age range for which it was written. I've seen a lot of intriguing novels preparing to hit the market lately, too, so you'd better believe I'm getting more and more excited!

Title: The Girl at Midnight
Author: Melissa Grey (Twitter)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: April 28, 2015
Genre: YA, Fantasy,
Pages: 368

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants...and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fir

Magic! Enchantments! Lost races and black markets! All of this sounds like an amazing recipe for success to me, and honestly, The Girl at Midnight sounds like it pretty much has my heart already. Echo sounds like the type of protagonist for whom I could really get onboard, and knowing that you have a heroine to root for is half the battle, right? I'm ready for this adventure, and I only wish it was releasing much sooner! What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature from Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Title: Ghost House
Author: Alexandra Adornetto (Twitter)
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publish Date: August 26, 2014
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…

Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.

It's been a long while since I fell for a ghost story - or a paranormal story for that matter - so I figured it was high time I actually read a book like Ghost House again. It must be said before I review this book that I knew going in it would follow the somewhat stereotypical young adult paranormal formula. Why? Simply because it's far too seldom that I read a ghost story that scares the crap out of me but manages to charm me at the same time. So, I knew that we would see love, we would see drama and I was certain there would be a plethora of cliches, as well. Alexandra Adornetto is now a veteran author though, and with an avid fan base, I wanted to give this new series a chance.

Ghost House starts strong, developing a strong bond between readers and our protagonist Chloe, who can see ghosts. Though she's managed to turn them off and away for years, they're back in full force since the death of her mother, and she sees them everywhere. I liked that there was a delicate balance between the naiveté of Chloe, and this deep-seeded pain that ruled her actions, as well. She's torn between two worlds - the one she lives in, and the one that haunts her all the time. I understood her desire to escape it all. Furthermore, I was impressed to see that Chloe does develop through the story, and we get to see her mature and come into her own. Her explorations of her abilities and her desire to help Alex were definitely intriguing, and it was that degree of empathy that really hooked me on her persona.

In terms of secondary characters, Alex was a bit more tedious for me through Ghost House. I felt like he offered pretty much the standard insta-love connection to the story, and though I was intrigued by his backstory and his tragic past, I wanted to see more of a rich and layered personality from him. I also struggled a little with the budding relationship between Alex and Chloe, simply because I didn't see as strong of a connection from both sides. So, in the case of this novel, I was actually happy to see a love triangle develop - if only because it offered us a human counterpart to our ghostly lover. All that said though, I must admit that I felt the romance overshadowed the actual plot, which was a shame. What could have been a really strong ghost story about a girl coming into her own and helping the other side did, unfortunately, fall prey to a few too many cliches for me in the end.

Overall though, I must say that Ms. Adornetto's writing is much stronger this time around, in my opinion. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Halo series, and I think that she's learned to develop her characters better, which is a huge plus for me. That being said, I liked Ghost House, but I didn't fall absolutely, madly in love with it. I give it a strong 3 out of 5, and I definitely recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy lighter paranormal dramas.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

I don't often do little reviews like this on the blog (at least, not since the beginning of my blog years ago), but Ryan and I sat down and actually watched the Divergent movie yesterday for the first time, and I felt the need to actually write down my thoughts on it. It's rare that I actually feel passionate enough - good or bad - to write a review, but I have to be honest…I can't help it with this one.

Part of the great power and charm of Divergent, the novel, is the fact that this passive, conformist society had such a sociopathic underbelly just teeming with dissatisfaction, resentment and power struggles. I found it to be a searing and scathing portrayal of what society could actually become someday, so reading the novel was extremely profound. Likewise, watching Tris grow into her own, find herself in a militant and powerful faction was a real treat - not to mention empowering to women everywhere.

Unfortunately, when we watched Divergent, the movie, both my husband and I felt a little bit cheated by the adaptation. Yes, we realize that cinematic portrayals will always take certain liberties for dramatic effect, but we felt as though the movie lost the actual power of the novel altogether. Rather than focus on this broken society, we get a brief interlude here and there about why society is split into factions, and then we focus on Tris's relationship with Four from there on in. Frankly, I feel as though Tris's character didn't resonate nearly as much as she did in the novel either.

Four was, and is, quiet and brooding, and I could definitely appreciate the fact that he fit the bill for me in the movie. However, I feel as though part of his tortured past that defined him so clearly in the novel was also simply glossed over. Whereas I wanted to see Tris and Four connect on a deeper level than just their Divergent connection, I felt as though we were left to settle for a cinematic, teeny-bopper romance that didn't capture a fraction of the power within the novel. Furthermore, both my husband and I remarked that the introduction of Dauntless in the movie was vaguely reminiscent of West Side Story, and I half expected these "hooligans" to break into song and start snapping.

Yes, I'm being extremely harsh about this movie, but when I see an adaption like The Hunger Games soar despite my expectations, I begin to understand that it actually is possible. Yet, I want more than just a pretty onscreen romance. I want power, and depth, and backstory, and it can be done. Sadly though, the Divergent movie just didn't do it for us, and we were sorely disappointed.

Did any of you watch the Divergent movie? If so, what did you think about it?