Let's get ready to rumble! Here are the two books that Rachel from Jacob's Beloved and I will be judging:

In this corner we have:

Ash by Malinda Lo

Cinderella retold
In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

I'm interested to see how this retake on the fairy tale Cinderella turns out.

And in this corner we have:

The Season by Sarah MacLean

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued -- in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.
When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this year's season begins!

I am going to admit, this is not a book I would have picked up had it not been for the Book Battle. I am a bit imitated by this being a historical/regency romance. I haven't tasted this genre before so I'm interested to see if I like it. Who knows, it could open up a whole new reading realm for me.

So, what do you think about the contenders? Have you read them (if you have, don't give too much away)? Are they on your wishlist? Rachel and I will select the winner of this round sometime on or around May 8th. So stay tuned!

For the latest on the YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle, be sure to check out The Shady Glade!