Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

After a car crash that he was in, that two men died in, Cooper Blake's life is torn apart. First of all, he was injured, so his football career is down the drain, not to mention the survivor's guilt he felt for the people who were killed. It also doesn't help that he has a ghost following him around all the time. Yep. A ghost. Samantha, the extremely colorful, blonde, pale, ghost. Did I mention that she has no clue of anything before she met Cooper? He stays in his own little world, trying to cope with reliving the car crash every night, trying to walk again, and return to a normal life, until he meets Brent. Brent can read minds, and he can even see Cooper's ghost. With his help, and the help of an arrogant sorcerer, and a sorceress who is actually the head cheerleader at his school, Cooper will attempt to not only get his life back to normal, but to understand his newfound powers, get the shadows under control, and discover who Samantha's real identity. Before it all destroys him.

The Naming by Alison Croggon

Maerad, a young girl who has been a slave practically all her life, has no friends or family. Her Mother died when she was 7, and the her father and brother were killed when she was still a young girl. She has convinced everyone in Gilman's Cot, a garrison-like place that is ruled by Gilman, that she is a witch, which brings about a wary respect of her elders, but scorning as far as her peers go. Her prized possession is a lyre, which she was taught to play so that she could entertain the soldiers after their raids. One day, her whole life changes when a stranger, who should have been invisible to her, comes by when she's milking a cow. The stranger, impressed by her ability to see through his disguise, invites her to go away with him, and she leaves. Soon, she discovers that she really is a witch, or, as they call one who has magic, a bard. Not only that, but she may be the only one who can save the world from the one who has plagued it- the Nameless One. I give this story 5 stars, because though it is quite detailed, it left me interested on every page, and it is an, in my opinion, well written story. The first in the Pellinor Quartet.