Best Book of August 2010

I have a problem. I don't think I can pick one book for August! Of course, this happens to me every month so why am I surprised? Decisions, decisions... Check out what's after the jump to see what I picked.

Yes, I read Mockingjay. And Linger. And Twice Bitten. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience with all three of them and you know what? I totally expected to.

I've picked books that I was not familiar with prior to reading them. I've picked books that made me pay $6.99 a pop for ebooks and I'm cheap. I've picked books that I want to share with everybody I know who can read the english language.

I've picked Moira Moore's Hero series, starring Lee and Taro. I read them all on my nook and never even noticed they weren't made of paper. I couldn't help it - I was hooked from the beginning of Resenting the Hero to the very end of Heroes Return.

Shield Dunleavy Mallorough and Source Shintaro Karish live in a world that is broken. The earth is unstable and in order to keep natural disasters from taking over and wiping humans off the planet, sources are needed to control extreme weather and such. Sources have an innate ability to diffuse these events with the help of shields who help them from exploding from all the sheer energy that flows through their bodies when they work. Shields and sources are yin and yang, bonded at first sight and inseparable throughout their entire lives.

Once you bond, you are bonded for life and there is no changing that. Romantic relationships are frowned upon; many partners have separate lives away from their work. Sources and shields aren't paid for what they do nor do they pay for anything they require. Businesses are required by law to give them anything they ask for. Sources tend to be extroverts; they are known to be social butterflies and carry fewer responsibilities away from channeling than shields. Shields are more controlled and exhibit fewer emotions than sources and regular people. Their sensitivity to external influences like music is heightened and can be disastrous. For example, Lee is so sensitive to music that she can lose control of herself and hurt others if the music is loud enough or if it just appeals to her on a basic level. Sources and shields are meant to look after each other and for a good reason: if a shield or source in a pair dies, so does their partner. It really is fortunate for shields and sources alike if they get paired with someone they respect and like.

On the whole, I liked this series so very much and I can't wait for the next book to come out, whenever that may be. (I am actually caught up with this series. It's a miracle!) My least favorite was Heroes Return, mostly for reasons that have to do with where the book was set and Taro's behavior - he was a jerk most of the time - which bothered me because I think I identified with Lee a little too much sometimes.

In the spirit of the Book Blogger Hop for this week I would like to say this on the subject of the covers of this series: Eh. I don't know what the publisher was thinking when they styled these book covers. The first two I can sort of get with but the last three? At no time in these books does Taro have blue lights coming from his hands. In Heroes Adrift, Lee and Taro do spend some time on a ship but they do not have anything to do with navigation or hanging from any of the ship's gear. I also doubt that Lee would be wearing a getup like that. She's not a pirate.

Go HERE to visit Moira's website or HERE to see her blog. If you would like to try something new, a series that is fantasy with a bit of romance, check out Resenting the Hero. It's Bookworm approved.