Author Crush: Brenna Yovanoff

Once I picked up one of Brenna Yovanoff’s books, I could not put it down, so this month, she is most definitely my author crush. Her books are the perfect mix of creepy, suspenseful, and haunting and they’re sure to stick in your mind long after reading. Perfect to read for Halloween!

The first book that got me hooked was The Replacement, which is about a boy, Mackie, who happens to be the fragile replacement for a human sacrifice, who was stolen as an infant. The creatures beneath the hill take one child annually and replace it with one of their own in exchange for the town’s safety, but once Mackie makes it to being a teen, he must decide where he belongs.

In the mood for something a little more romantic but equally as creepy? Try The Space Between, where for Daphne, the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, life is all planned out for her: becoming a ravenous demon who lives off the pain of weak men. But when her older brother, Obie, travels to Earth, she follows to warn him of danger and ends up falling for a human boy she’d asked for help somewhere along the way.

In Paper Valentine, best friends can never be separated – even if one of them ends up dead. When the Valentine Killer begins leaving a trail of bodies of young girls with paper valentines, Hanna and her ghostly BFF Lillian start searching for clues as to who this murderer is, and they could be far closer to the killer than they think.

In Fiendish, Clementine wakes up after being buried alive for ten years under a magical enchantment in the basement closet after her house burned down and she is determined to find out who put her there and why. Soon after being freed, she becomes attracted to Fisher, the boy who found and freed her, but he couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this, could he?

If you’re looking for something less scary, The Space Between is a strange romance that will have you thinking about just what happens when you go to sleep. Waverly seems to be a normal teen girl who is an overachiever in every way, but at night, she runs until her feet bleed, analyzes other students to know how to behave around them, and dreams herself into the bedroom of one of the school stoners – Marshall – just to talk to one another. Despite their opposite natures, they find a mutual attraction in one another that flourishes in the dark but remains a secret outside of their dreams.

Brenna Yovanoff also contributed to the short story collections The Curiosities and The Anatomy of Curiosity with Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton, in which each of the three authors present a few short stories and each make comments on each other’s work. These collections are great for aspiring writers to read, because they are an excellent window into the writing processes of three excellent authors – and it also proves that even big name authors are just like us behind their blank computer screens.

You can find Brenna Yovanoff online at her website, twitter, and tumblr. She also contributed to the Merry Sisters of Fate blog with Tessa Gratton and Maggie Stiefvater, which is where their short stories from their anthologies were originally from. Happy reading!