Prom Dates From Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Maggie Quinn is a fairly ordinary high school senior with plans to be a journalist. She is involved with the newspaper and the yearbook, and has somehow been recruited to photograph prom, even though she hadn't really planned to attend. Despite her occasional preternatural dreams (and her grandmother, who has the Sight), Maggie is rather skeptical about the idea of special abilities. But something weird is happening at school: odd, life-threatening things are happening to students, especially the popular kids. Not to mention the odd sulfur-and-brimstone smell. Maggie will have to put her journalistic sleuthing skills to the test -- and perhaps come to terms with her peculiar dreams -- in order to find the truth and save her school.

I expected this book to be a bit silly and fluffy, based on the title, but it was neither of those things, and I enjoyed it immensely. In addition to the well-developed plot and characters, the narration by Maggie (which is just a bit snarky) made all of these books a lot of fun to read. There is more of a religious/Christian aspect than I was expecting, but it takes shape more in a good-vs.-evil sense than in advocating or pushing any particular brand of beliefs. I'm hopeful that the series may be continued in future books. I would absolutely recommend this to fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy stories about demons in the real world, or who enjoy books with sarcastic narrators.

This is the first book in the "Girl vs. Evil" series, followed by Hell Week and Highway to Hell.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Fairy Bad Day, Drink, Slay, Love, Death and the Girl Next Door, or Celia and Kate

Living Violet by Jaime Reed

Samara Marshall is convinced that something is not quite right about her co-worker, Caleb Baker. No one else seems to notice the way that his eyes glow, or the effect that he has on women - or, more importantly, the fact that too many of those women seem to end up in the hospital. When Caleb starts to show interest in Sam, she tries to avoid him, but somehow they keep ending up together. But regardless of how much fun they have, Caleb has secrets - secrets that could put Sam and her family in danger.

I enjoyed reading these books; the story was interesting and the characters were well developed. I particularly liked the fact that Sam didn't magically fall in love with Caleb once she found out his secrets - their relationship still takes a lot of work. I will say that it occasionally felt as though the author was trying a little too hard to use slang and sound "natural," but most of the time the writing was fine. I would recommend this series to older fantasy fans who enjoy supernatural romances.

The Cambion Chronicles series continues with Burning Emerald and Fading Amber.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Dead Beautiful, the Morganville Vampires series, As You Wish, or Wicked Lovely