Phew! First semester is over, so it’s back to the (fun) books for me! I couldn’t resist reaching for a novel I’ve been aching to read since it first came out – ‘Valentine’ by Jodi McAlister.

Great cover (don’t you think??!), great premise. Four kids, all born on Valentine’s Day… but which one is the changeling? Add a dash of love-hate romance and you have the perfect recipe for YA enjoyment.

And so…?

This book does truckloads of stuff right. The characters and location feel so real. The start is amazing. All those midnight animals creeping around keep building the suspense.

And whoa… because if there aren’t at least two Valentines who can trace their lineage back to a bit of fairy magic, then I’m not a madcap children’s writer. Unfortunately, I have to wait for the next book to find out if I’m right.

I must admit to getting a little confused about which dudes were Seelie and which were Unseelie, and which ones I ought to wear my shirt inside out for. And was that because they liked it, or didn’t? (Seriously, I think my brain was study-fried.) I love a good list. I’d have loved Pearl to write one for me. She could have written some headings at the top, namely “SEELIE” and “UNSEELIE” and then under them just jotted down a few helpful notes. Stuff like “Traps me in my home” or “Wants me to leave”, “Brainwashes my friends” or “Doesn’t like salt”. I would have found that supremely useful.

Likewise, I could have made my own list (and believe me I often do) but I was reading for fun, and it felt too much like studying. And I’d had enough of studying. So I ignored the urge and kept reading. It didn’t stop me enjoying the story!

I’m glad to be back reading what I love, and back in the wordpress sphere as well. My especial apologies to Tina across at Written in geek, who nominated me for an award and I never found a moment spare to respond. <sorry!> If it makes it any better, I aced my units…

Read on, people!