Jill Noble Picks Her Noble YA Favorites...

I'm thrilled to be hosting Jill Noble today. She made my holiday with her post!

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Hi there! First, I'd like to thank Ella Jade for having me here today. My name is Jill N. Noble, and as some of you might know, I'm the CEO of Noble Romance Publishing, LLC. Noble publishes adult romance – sweet, sensual, and erotic, and if you follow Ella's blog, you know we also publish young adult fiction. Our young adult books – published under Noble Young Adult, Not Just Romance! – run the gamut from romance to paranormal to science fiction and everything in between. Today, I'd like to tell you a little bit about two of my favorite young adult novels.

Yes, I know, as the publisher, some might say I shouldn't have favorites, but I'm also human. And I also love to read! J

The first one is, of course, Ella Jade's Jocelyn's Choice. And I'm honestly not just saying that because I'm a guest on her blog today. I had a chance to do a final read of this story before it went to print, and I really enjoyed it. The first thing I thought was that my oldest daughter would love it, and so I recommended it to her. She (daughter) called me the next day to say, "Thanks a lot." She'd stayed up half the night reading, because the book was too good to put down…and she had to get up to get her boys ready for school that next morning. J But she really loved Jocelyn's Choice. She said she likes books that are "real," and that she can relate to – things she or her friends might have experienced themselves. And apparently, JC fit the bill. I think that's what I liked most about the book, too. It felt like I was reading about something that could have happened to someone I knew. I appreciated that Ella doesn't talk down or belittle young adults. Despite the subject matter, she doesn't preach or use JC to try to teach any kind of "lesson." Instead, she presents you with interesting characters that you can relate to, and a situation that draws you in so that you have to keep reading, just so you can find out how this book ends. J

The second one of my favorites I'd like to tell you about is Saewod Tice's Amongst the Ruins. This is completely different from Jocelyn's Choice, but I liked it just as much. Saewod is one of Noble's Hot New Talent authors, and her book is a terrific futuristic fantasy set on Earth, following the apocalypse. Her heroine had to make difficult choices, and Saewod allowed her to make mistakes, which, to me, made her seem all the more real. While Amongst the Ruins does have underlying romantic themes, this is the first in a series (and I'm wondering where book 2 is!), and so our heroine has time to learn her way in the world of men and women. A realistic element, in my opinion, since that's often how it is with young adults. We find the man we think is Mr. Right, only to find out he's the biggest jerk on the planet. We're heartbroken…until the next Mr. Right comes along. And in the meantime, we learn valuable lessons about life and love and trust and self-confidence and relationships. If you like fantasy young adult fiction, I believe you'll enjoy Amongst the Ruins.

I want to thank you for being with me today. And if you read romance or young adult fiction, I obviously hope you'll come visit us at www.nobleromance.com or www.nobleyoungadult.com. J

Happy Holidays!

Jill