A few weeks ago, I did a Cat Winters Appreciation Post, and I thought, why not do another one? There are a lot of books that are on my favorites shelf that I, for some odd reason, never talk about or seem to pop up in tags or are mentioned on my blog. These are books that I read a long time ago, loved dearly – but it was before I started reviewing so until I can do a reread, you’ll just be able to get general fangirling about the books from what I can vaguely remember. But I love them and love the authors and just want to fangirl over them a bit more.
So, Megan Miranda. I reviewed her book, The Perfect Stranger on the blog a bit back, and it wasn’t my favorite book by her – the other ones? Literally all five star reads from me. She’s that good.
Shall we take down a stroll down all the reasons why Megan Miranda is literally near the tippity top of my favorite authors list?
Compelling MysteriesThat’s right – at the heart of every Megan Miranda story is a compelling mystery. At some point during the novel, you’ll sit there going, wait, what’s really going on? What’s happening? And then totally be compelled to read until you find out. She has two adult thrillers – The Perfect Stranger and All the Missing Girls – but most of her YA novels are part mystery, part sciencey. Miranda got a degree from MIT in biology, so she knows her science and she always adds in a little bit of mad science to the already thrilling mystery.
The best part of her mysteries? I still have yet to call an ending by her. All the Missing Girls was the worst one – I literally never saw that ending coming and I remember just sitting there, going :O at the end of the novel. Wow.
Beautiful WritingIf you’re a follower of my blog, you know I’m weird about my writing styles. I have finally gotten a little less picky about writing styles – but trust me, it’s not much. If I don’t click with a certain author’s writing style in a few pages, I’m out. It’s bad, I know.
Miranda just has this way with words. I just look at the writing in her novels and just sigh because there are so many quotes that I want to add and hoard in my Goodreads quote section.
If you click on my review of The Perfect Stranger, you’ll find a bunch in there. She just has these dark, thought-provoking quotes that emo me wants to go scribble down in journals somewhere.
Complex PlotsMiranda doesn’t believe in easy plots. No, it’s just not in her nature. I honestly think The Perfect Stranger was her most normal plot. Here’s just a few of her ambitious ideas:
Fracture – Delaney spent 11 eleven minutes under water, where her heart stopped beating…now, she’s drawn to the dead and dying and a strange boy who has emerged from a coma with the strange new abilities
The Safest Lies – Can fear be inherited? Kelsey’s mom is scared of everything, and when she goes missing, is it Kelsey’s darkest fear coming true or is there more to the story…like a secret dark past?
All the Missing Girls – Two missing girls…10 years apart…told from Day 14 back to Day 1.
Soulprint – What if souls were like fingerprints and they were just passed on to the next person when you die? Alina has spent her life in prison for a crime her past self committed, but when a group of teens break in to say her, Alina needs to figure out what is right for her…and her soul.
Hysteria – Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She knows this…but she just can’t remember it. But now that’s she’s in a new school and someone else shows up dead, she needs to figure out what happened that night more than ever.
But, seriously, do they not all sound like overly ambitious plots? And do they not…SOUND ALL AMAZING? She seriously manages to follow through with each and every one of these.
So, have I convinced you yet that you totally need to check out her work? While I love them all, All the Missing Girls is my favorite, but Hysteria and The Safest Lies are up there, too.
And for my swooners and my shippers, YES, THERE ARE ADORABLE SHIPS AND I LOVE THEM DEARLY. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, DEX AND REID.
So, yeah. I’m a big Megan Miranda fan. I met her as well, and she’s so ridiculously nice and sweet, and I don’t know how but I totally kept my fangirling to a minimum.
And if you’re completely convinced, I do have my giveaway going on including one of Miranda’s books. Click here if you want to know more about the giveaway!