Henry VIII, Wolfman; and Impulse

A. E. Moorat wrote a funny spoof about Henry VIII called "Henry VIII, Wolfman" in which he imagines werewolves overrunning England during the time of Henry's reign. Henry is bitten during an attack which kills Queen Katherine and their newborn son, George, and Henry vows revenge. But he turns into a werewolf during every full moon despite his attempts to fight it. He ends up biting Anne Boleyn and turning her as well, and marries her out of guilt. Meanwhile, Malchek, head of the wolfen, is going around building an army of werewolves. It was pretty amusing, and he did a good job of characterizing the people who surrounded Henry during that time period.
"Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins was very dark and very powerful. Taking place in Aspen Springs, a mental hospital for teens, we meet Connor, Vanessa, and Tony, who have all tried to commit suicide. They bond and become friends and help each other out during their dark times, and Tony and Vanessa's parents become more engaged and willing to help their troubled kids out, while Connor's family continues to be cold, so Connor tries again to kill himself and this time he succeeds. I see why teens like Hopkins books so much: her voice is very authentic and never condescending, plus it's interesting and goes very quick.

Wanted; American Heiress

So book 8 of PLL was...interesting. I actually really enjoyed it, as improbable as the whole "Ali and her identical insane twin Courtney switching places" storyline was. I mean, it all fit together nicely enough. I wonder if Sara Shepherd had the ending in mind when she started. If she didn't then just, wow. I'm guessing she did, though.
"American Heiress" by Daisy Goodwin wasn't as good as I hoped. The ending kind of killed it for me. Cora Cash is a wealthy socialite living in New York at the end of the 19th century. She has everything: good looks, lots of money. Her overly ambitious mother wants her to have a title as well, so Cora goes off to England and meets an impoverished Duke. They actually do fall in love and get married, and Cora uses her wealth to restore the Duke's home and lands. But she finds navigating the tricky waters of high class British society quite difficult and everyone seems to be out to laugh at her mistakes. Cora handles it well, though, until she discovers her husband had an affair with one of the ladies she thought was a good friend to her. In the end she ends up staying with her husband, choosing to believe him when he says the affair ended after they wed. I frankly didn't see why Cora was so enamored with the Duke, he seemed like a tool, and I didn't like Cora, either. I really don't feel sympathy for wealthy, thin, gorgeous people. Shocking, I know :)

Artemis Fowl: the Eternity Code; Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident; Wicked; Killer; Heartless; Untold Story

I accidentally read books 3 and 2 of the Artemis Fowl series out of order, but that's okay. Eoin Colfer's series finds Artemis on the hunt to rescue his father in "The Arctic Incident", which he does, while helping the underworld people quell a goblin rebellion staged by the evil Opal Koboi, who is going to reappear in book 4. Using fairy technology he pilfered, Artemis creates a magical box that is light years ahead of any technology on earth. He shows it to wealthy technology mogul Spiro with the thought that Spiro will pay him to keep his invention under wraps in "The Eternity Code". Instead Spiro steals the box and tries to kill Artemis and Butler. Holly has to help him get out of the mess he's gotten himself into, after he swears this is his last shady enterprise. We'll see.
A bunch more of the PLL series by Sara Shepherd. "Wicked", book 5, finds the girls still receiving emails and texts from A, even though Mona is dead. Who is new A? Ian has been arrested and is awaiting trial for Ali's murder, even though he is vehemently protesting his innocence. The books ends with the girls finding Ian's dead body in the wood. Book 6, "Killer", picks up with the girls having to struggle for credibility when Ian's body disappears and all of Rosewood thinks they are making everything up for attention. The books ends with Spencer's barn being lit on fire with everyone but Aria in it. They manage to escape from the flames and find someone--is it Ali?--in the woods. In "Heartless", book 7, more secrets are revealed when we find out Spencer was Ali's half sister. Hanna ends up in a mental hospital after her evil soon to be stepsister convinces her dad she's on the verge of a breakdown. Emily hides out with an Amish family, looking for answers on a seemingly wild goose chase A sends her on. A new suspect, Billy Ford, is arrested for Ali's murder after Jenna is also murdered and it turns out Billy was a construction worker at both girl's homes during the time of their deaths. This series is fun and kind of trashy, but it really is amazing how well she's making these secrets and revelations fit together. I'm impressed, anyway :)
And in a little break from PLL, Monica Ali's "Untold Story" imagines what might have happened if Princess Diana didn't really die back in that car crash in Paris in 1997. Ali has Diana living in a quiet American mid-west town under the name of Lydia, after faking her death to escape the paparazzi that she felt was ruining her life and the lives of her boys. Lydia has a hard time making friends and letting people into her life because of her devastating secret, and she's always looking over her shoulder, paranoid someone might find her out. Then the past catches up with her in the form of a photographer who used to chase her, and she worries her carefully crafted life will blow up in her face. It was an interesting idea about how desperate she might have been to escape the life she was leading and how she could have made it happen.

Travels with Zenobia; Emily of New Moon; Withering Tights; Powder and Patch

In 1926 Rose Wilder Lane and her friend Helen Dore Boylston traveled from Paris to Albania in a car they named Zenobia, and kept a humorous journal of their experience. I enjoyed the quick read, and it was fascinating how, while things have changed so very much, they have also stayed the same. Like the government red tape just for them to buy Zenobia in Paris reminded me of the hoops the DMV made my dad jump through to register a truck he bought salvaged out of state. Every time he gathered up the permits, certificates, signatures, and paperwork they requested and went in, they found ten more things for him to go and get. It was like a scavenger hunt with no end. But I digress.
"Emily of New Moon" by L. M. Montgomery is one I hadn't read as a child, but wanted to now after rereading all the Anne of Green Gables books for the millionth time. Emily, much like Anne, is orphaned and goes to live with maiden aunts on a farm called New Moon. Emily doesn't have as much spunk and fire as Anne, but she is whimsical and charming and it was a sweet book.
Louise Rennison is back! Not with Georgia, sadly, but with her younger cousin Tallulah in "Withering Tights". Tallulah is spending the summer at a college acting workshop in Yorkshire. She's not like Georgia: she's more serious and shy and not as prone to doing zany things just for the sake of it, but she still manages to get herself into some amusing situations. I enjoyed it, but damn, it made me miss Georgia so much.
And finally, a Georgette Heyer novel called "Powder and Patch". It was short, quick read. Philip is in love with Cleone, but she won't have him because he's coarse and countrified, so he goes to London to learn how to be a fop, and succeeds beyond anyone's expectations. Six months later when Cleone sees him again she's angry at him for being a gadabout and frivolous with his affections. Luckily for Philip, Cleone gets herself into a nasty entanglement and when he is able to free her of it they both realize how silly they've been and that they are meant to be together. Ah, happy ending.