The Circle of Friends by L. Diane Wolfe

L. Diane Wolfe has written a five book series of young adult books that chronicles a group of friends as they transition into adulthood. This series has some powerful messages for the youth of today. As a reader many years removed from this demographic, what I love most about these books is that they transported me back to that time in my own life.

Book I – Lori-

Lori is the first book in the Circle of Friends series. It introduces us to a group of high school students as they meet, mature and deal with what life can through at someone. The story of this book centers around Lori, a shy smart young woman determined to win a gold medal in swimming at the Olympics. Over the course of the book we see her face challenges, make new friends, struggle with existing ones and fall in love, all while never compromising her dream.

Book II – Sarah-
As the second book in the series, Sarah picks up in the middle of Lori’s timeframe. The reader gets to experience the events that overlap from another point of view, Sarah’s. Wolfe does an excellent job of repeating events without the story seeming repetitive. As we get inside Sarah’s head, we watch events unfold in a fresh new way. We understand more about the outgoing best friend we only got a glimpse of in Book I. In Sarah, we see the depth behind her personality and we get to watch her grow through her college years and her relationship with Matt.

Book III – James-
James has had a rough life, as we found out in Book I. In this book, we learn more about his brutal childhood. Not only does James have esteem issues to overcome, but he always seems to pick the wrong girl. We watch him struggle with himself, have his heart trampled then find strength in his friends and a devoted wife. But Wolfe doesn’t write sappy clichéd books, this couple will still face ongoing struggles, and we will watch then face those and not let the weight of their burdens bring them down.

Book IV – Mike-
Mike is a young man who is the picture of stability… on the outside. On the inside, he is struggling with doubts and guilt. Like so many of us in real life, Mike struggles with self-condemnation. He keeps a part of himself locked up because of his fear of rejection. Through the course of the book we will see is he is able to overcome these fears to truly let others in.

Book V – Heather-
We first met Heather in Book I and from the beginning she has been a force and for me, a favorite character. She never gives up no matter what life throws at her. Through her triumphs and struggles, she never loses who she is. It is a joy to watch her grow from Book I into the incredible woman she becomes in Book V. Her journey is not always easy, her determination never falters.



From the beginning, L. Diane Wolfe has given us realistic characters in compelling stories. The Circle of Friends Series is written in such a way as to make the reader a fly on the wall in the lives of these young adults. If you have teens in your life, these are excellent books for them to read. If you are past that stage but want something to send you back to memory lane or just want good uplifting dramas without the melodrama, then definitely pick up this series.

Books I-IV were purchased.
Heather, Book V was provided by the author.

Be sure to stop back here tomorrow for an interview with L. Diane Wolfe.

Trissa and the Necklace of Nulidor by Willow

Trissa and the Necklace of Nulidor by Willow is a coming of age story. At twelve years old Trissa is a girl on the verge of leaving childhood, who must save not only the family she has come to love but her village. Her village has had a spell cast on it and she alone is unaffected. She begins a journey to find the answers to save her village. Along the way, she will meet many magical beings, some allies and some enemies. She will discover who she is. Willow has written a wonderful adventure, full of rich characters and suspenseful action that starts with the first chapter. The reader will watch Trissa grow throughout the book as she uses cunning, compassion and courage to save her world. An excellent book for pre and early teens. Four out of five stars.


This book was provided by the author. And of course I had to read it since the author has the same name as my favorite feline.

Book Review - The Night World Series by L.J. Smith

*Updated post with more links (12:59pm)












What do you call a society of supernatural beings dwelling among us, yet hidden right before our eyes? Ljane Smith calls it Night World. Long before there was even the idea for Twilight, there was Night World. Night World is her mesmerizing, highly addicting series of young adult fantasy books.....only young adults aren't the only ones hooked. How many authors can write a series of nine books so captivating that her readers are willing to wait and are still salivating for the tenth and final book in the series? Oh yes, many authors write compelling series that hook us, but unlike Ljane they write them pretty close together. Ljane (as she prefers to be called per her website) published the first nine books between 1996-98. Here we are in 2009 and we are still breathlessly waiting. In fact, some of us love her stories so much we have purchased the re-released books (as seen above in Vols 1,2 & 3) and fallen in love with them all over again. Now a decade later there is a whole new group of readers discovering her spellbinding work. Luckily, our wait is almost over as Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide (click here to pre-order thru Amazon)is being released in late October (with a sneak peek of the first two chapters of the final book, Strange Fate) and Strange Fate (click here to pre-order thru Amazon) is scheduled to be released on April 6, 2010.

Let me be your guide into the first nine books of Ljanes's magical Night World.....

Witches, vampires, shapeshifters and other things that go bump in the night do live among us. They are part of Night World and are forbidden from letting us mere humans know they exist and from have relationships with others that are not their specific species. The penalty for breaking these rules is death for all parties involved. But Fate has other plans, creating soulmates that cross those lines. An organization has formed called, Circle Daybreak, that believes the only way for us survive is to all learn to work together and live in harmony. There is a prophecy that says only the Wild Powers can prevent the world from falling into chaos and darkness. Circle Daybreak is committed to finding these four Wild Powers, keeping them safe from Night World and helping them in the coming battle. The only clues they have to find the Wild Powers is :

One from the land of kings long forgotten,
One from the hearth which still holds the spark,
One from the Day World where two eyes are watching,
One from the twilight to be one with the dark.

The fate of the world will be in their hands. Let's begin our journey...

Secret Vampire
James and Poppy have been best friends since childhood. Poppy doesn't know that James is a vampire until she is dying of cancer. Will he turn her to save her, though it is forbidden?

Daughters of Darkness
The Redfern sisters, Rowan, Jade and Kestral, are vampires who flee Night World to live among humans in rural Oregon. They befriend human brother and sister, Mary-Lynette and Mark, who discover their true identities. When Ash Redfern comes to take his sisters back to Night World, he must decide whether to kill Mary-Lynette and Mark for knowing about vampires or accept his connection to Mary-Lynette. Will he follow his duty or will he allow his world to be turned upside down?

*For those who have read Daughters of Darkness, click here for the follow-up story, "Those Who Favor Fire", with Ash and Mary-Lynette.

Spellbinder
Thea and Blaise Harmon are sisters and witches, who are as different as night and day. Blaise is as bad as they come. she has a strong hatred for humans and revels in using her magic to destroy the men in her life. Thea is the good one, who also has disdain for humans but is compelled by her compassion to help them. When Thea heals human, Eric, she discovers he is her soulmate. Blaise is determined to add him to her list of ruined conquest. Will Blaise destroy Eric or will Thea be able to save him?

Dark Angel
When Gillian falls into an icy river and drowns on her way home from school, she meets Angel who guides her back into the land of the living only to coerce her into doing things she isn't comfortable with. Will her long time crush, David, be able to save her from Angel's sinister intentions?

The Chosen
After seeing her mother killed by a vampire, Rashel devotes her life to tracking and killing the nocturnal monsters. When she gets in over her head, it will be the vampire, Quinn, she must accept help from. The bond that forms will make them both question their prejudices, but will it save them or be their undoing?

Soulmate
What do you do when recurring nightmares and strange notes you don't remember writing keep turning up? That is what Hannah and her therapist set out to solve, only to discover, Hannah is a very old soul.... She has been reincarnated many times over the centuries only to die at a young age each time. In this current incarnation, she was unaware of Night World until she discovers she is part of a dangerous triangle with Maya, the original vampire and Thierry, The Lord of the Night World. Will she survive past her birthday this time or face the same tragic end only to start the cycle all over again?

Huntress
When Jez Redfern discovers she is a rare human-vampire halfbreed because her mother was human, she turns her back on her past and the human hating gang she leads. She joins Circle Daybreak and begins living with her long-lost human relatives while hunting down the renegades of Night World. When she gets word that the new leader of her old gang, Morgead Blackthorn, claims to have discovered the identity of a Wild Power, she will go undercover, back to her old life as a vampire to bring The Wild Power into the protection of Circle Daybreak. Will she find the Wild Power before her old gang discovers what she is really up to?

*For those who have read Huntress, click here for a story, "Jez and Morgead's Night Out", from the character's past.

Black Dawn
Maggie Neely's brother is missing and presumed dead after a mountain climbing trip with his girlfriend, Sylvia. Maggie thinks Sylvia is hiding something and when she confronts her, she ends ends up unconscious only to wake up in a slaver's cart in the mountains headed toward a hidden Night World Kingdom, ruled by vampire Prince Delos. She will manage to escape with three other slaves, one who is a mysterious young blind girl. Will she be able to move past her brothers disappearance and her own kidnapping or will she be drawn back into the fate of Prince Delos and the people of in his kingdom?

Witchlight
Werepanther, Keller will lead a team of supernaturals to retrieve the third Wild Power. Even a team of a shape-shifter, witch and vampire will have there work cut out for them retrieving "lost witch", Iliana. It is prophesied that she is the Witch Child who will marry the son of the First House of shape-shifters, Galen Drache, to unify the shape-shifter and witch families. First of all Iliana wants nothing to do with being a witch or fulfilling her destiny. Keller has fallen in love with Galen, whom Iliana must marry to secure peace. Finally, one of the original shape-shifters, a dragon, has been awakened and he is not on their side. Will Keller be able to deny her own feelings for the sake of her duty? Will Iliana come around and embrace her destiny as a witch and the betrothed of Galen? And what does the awakening of the dragon mean for the fate of the Wild Powers and the prophecy?

*For those who have read Witchlight, click here for the continueing story, "Thicker Than Water", with Keller and Iliana.


The answers to all of the above questions are in her books. We must anxiously wait until Strange fate is released to get the final answers to the fate of the world.

This is one of the most captivating series I have read. It definitely gets five out of five and I urge everyone to purchase, check it out from the library or mug a friend who has a copy (not really, but maybe sweet talk them and borrow it.) Everyone who loves fantasy should read these intoxicating stories. Click here for a list of all LJ Smith's books.