December books...

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Elena is the world's only female werewolf and although she tries to lead a normal life she gets drawn back to the pack when the mutts start to cause trouble. It took a while for me to get into it, but i did enjoy it...okay, so all the pack werewolves are a bit too good looking and smart and the heroine is a bit of a smart ass type, but it romps along at a good pace. Will probably read others at some point.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
Modern take on Beauty and the Beast (see, I'm on a theme here!) set in NYC and told from the Beast's pov. It has it's good points and as YA fiction I've read far more self indulgent, self concious stuff...but, what spoilt it for me was that in being YA the characters were 16! Just jars with me...particularly since its my favourite fairy tale and I thought the whole point was that the Beast had to learn both to not judge on appearances and the true meaning of love. Er, at sixteen?! Not going to happen no matter how much they play in the snow and visit the greenhouse to look at roses! Okay - but missed the point for me!

Beauty by Robin McKinley
Retelling of Beauty and the Beast which follows most of the traditional lines...Beauty is bookish and plain (which is slightly over emphasised) and the Beast is less brutish and more self-aware than in some versions. Slow to get going, but once she gets to the castle is beautifully written with sensitivity and real care of the characters. Shame the end is a bit rushed, but 5 stars simply for being so thoughtfully written.

A Compromising Position by Carole Matthews
Didn't realise this was a reprint and the book was originally written about 7 years ago...the development of facebook et al have aged the story a little, as there's no shock factor in naughty pictures appearing on the internet any more. However, once it gets going it's a jolly chick-lit romp with a predictable ending. The characters are suitably likable and frustrating, the situations beyond ridiculous but well done by a consistently good author.