Angieville

I am so excited about these upcoming releases. All three are due out in October (within a week of each other, actually), which seems so very far away at this point. I love all three covers, all three titles, and all three fascinating premises. I have never read anything by these authors, so it's anyone's guess as to how things will play out. I do have to say that I love that Eve & Adam is written by a husband-and-wife team. Other such teams have worked out just incredibly well for me in the past. I look forward to adding another set to the list. Eve & Adam   by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate After a bad accident, Eve (short for Evening) realizes she's healing faster than is to be expected. Recuperating in her mother's biotech lab, she and an unusual guy named Solo embark on the creation of the perfect boy. Due out October 2nd. Ironskin by Tina Connolly Steampunk faery retelling of Jane Eyre . I could elaborate, but I think I'm gonna exerc...

All right. Bring it on. Tell me what you think. Are you gonna see it as soon as it comes out? What do you think of Leo and Carey as Gatsby and Daisy? I'm a bundle of emotions. Definitely going to see it. Not sure what my response will be. But as of now? Tentatively excited.

I can tell you exactly what it was made me pick up this book for review (and what it was not). It  was  the comparisons (yes, multiple) to one  Anna and the French Kiss . It was  not  the cover. Yeah, the colors are pretty and the font is nice. But otherwise it's just awkward. And cheesy. And this book is neither. I think I would have left it at the fence and skipped the junior high dance pose couple. Because while this book  does  have a romance in possession of the kind of heat you do not want to miss, that couple does  not  do them justice. There. I've said it. We shall move on. I wasn't planning on reading  My Life Next Door   at all, until I read the aforementioned comparisons and early happy reviews. Together they pushed me over the edge, and I went ahead and took the plunge. I mean, who in their right mind doesn't want to read a debut in the same vein as a  Stephanie Perkins  novel? I am pretty much incapable of ...

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Guy Gavriel Kay (and this series) has been on my mind lately. I'm not sure why. I am sure, however, that the inaugural Retro Friday review was Kay's Tigana , and it makes me happy to have started with that book. But these are the first of his books that I read, and I read them on the recommendation of my husband (then-boyfriend). Which memory also maketh me happy. He'd read them years before and guessed (rightly) that I would love them, too. When I went to the bookstore to pick up the first book, the red trade paperback had just been released. I snatched it up and stroked the cover. It has one of those buttery matte covers that catch ever so softly on your fingertips and make it impossible to stop s...

And the winner of the copy of Bitterblue and the Seven Kingdoms tote bag is . . . Elisa ! Congratulations! Elisa's answer to my question of which character in the series you'd want as a BFF was: There aren't a lot of girls I can easily be around for long periods of time, but I like to think Katsa would be the exception to that, so I'll say her. But I would never walk away from Po...  Amen to that. As a matter of fact, Katsa won as favorite BFF hands down, with Bitterblue and Po not far behind. Brigan and Giddon each got a vote apiece, which made me happy. Because I loves them both. As for me? It's such a tough call. Why did I ask such a hard question? In the end, I think I have to echo Elisa. Katsa for the best friend, and she can bring Po along any old time she wants. Thanks so much to   Penguin   for hosting the giveaway and to each one of you for taking the time to enter and share your love for this series and these characters. 

So I finally broke down and ordered an actual physical copy of Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar a couple of weeks ago. Because I couldn't go any longer without having it in my house, in my hands. Yes, yes, I know I already do have it in ebook form on my Nook, and that's all fine and dandy. But I've been itching to reread it something fierce lately. And for some reason I haven't been able to bring myself to reread the ebook. Why? Well, honestly, I was stumped for awhile. I'm a serial rereader, for one thing. Rereading is extremely important to me. I can finish a book for the first time and know instantly if it's going to be one I'm going to want to experience again or not. And if it is, I must own a physical copy. It has to sit on my shelves, so I that I can see it when I pass through the room and reach out and touch the spine to reassure myself of its presence if need be. When it's just one of many files on my ereader, I can't do any of those things. I sim...

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! I have retellings on the brain right now. So you'll have to bear with me as this week you get another one--one of my favorites.  Valiant   is the second book in  Holly Black 's excellent  Modern Tales of Faerie  trilogy. I read  Tithe   back in the day, and it immediately became my favorite Tam Lin retelling. I've been somewhat his and miss with that tale, and this angsty teen version of it worked   remarkably well  for me. So my introduction to Ms. Black was a fine one. When   Valiant   came out, I didn't know exactly what to expect given that it switched characters entirely. Things always seem to go one way or the other when that happens in a series, don't ...

That's right! Today I'm thrilled to celebrate Bitterblue 's release day with a giveaway. One (1) winner will receive: ·          A copy of  Bitterblue ·          A  Bitterblue  tote bag  featuring the names of the Seven Kingdoms All prizing provided by Penguin. Giveaway open to US addresses only. To enter, simply leave a comment telling me which character from this series you'd want for a BFF and why. Make sure to include your contact information. This giveaway will be open until midnight May 8th. I have to say, I am pretty envious of the person who wins that tote bag. It is awesome.  About the book: Bitterblue  is the long-awaited companion to  New York Times  bestsellers  Graceling  and  Fire . Eight years after  Graceling ,  Bitterblue  is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father...