Angieville

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! Okay, all you lovers of Grave Mercy .  Listen up. I think this book is for you. I first read The Canterbury Papers about six years ago, though it was originally published back in 2003. This is Judith Koll Healey's first novel, though she was a previously published poet and author of short fiction. It was the cover that caught my eye in the bookstore. When I picked it up and read that it took place during the 12th century and involved the crafty Eleanor of Aquintaine and the Knights Templar, I knew I would be reading it. But when it had to go and have one of those sink-your-fingers-in matte covers, I just went ahead and purchased it on the spot. Behold my susceptibility to pretty, tactile covers, f...

I was warned about reading this book. And I did go back and forth for awhile before deciding it wasn't for me. Or I wasn't for it. That I wasn't that intrigued. Or that I didn't want to hate myself in the morning. Take your pick. You're familiar with the hype/trainwreck induced cycle of warring self-doubt and insatiable curiosity, yes? Then you understand. And I honestly didn't give it a second thought after making that decision. Then I read and loved  Easy . And I immediately started running across comparisons, mentions of similarities. Plus, several of these new-ish, self-published new adult authors have been all over the place lately, and, well, all that curiosity washed over me full force once more. So I decided I wanted to decide for myself. I think I went in expecting one big hot mess from start to finish, albeit a hot mess I couldn't look away from and would be compelled to see through to its inevitable overwrought ending. You see? I had been warned...

Wow. These books . . . they need to be on my shelf. Like I am starting to glance at my calendar and mumble about how many months left in the year. Not only have they all three been on my must-have list for some time now, but they got themselves such fantastically pretty covers to boot. Way to go, little books! Way to stand up for yourselves and demand the eye-catching treatment. Now why do you have to go and be out next year?! Catherine by April Lindner This is the second novel from Ms. Lindner. After falling utterly in love with Jane , her contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre , I was signed on for life. But knowing that her sophomore novel is a contemporary retelling of Wuthering Heights sort of nudges me over into supreme fangirl territory. How will she update that bit of insanity? I can't wait to find out. Love the idea, love the cover, love everything. Due out January 2nd Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi I'm incredibly pleased with the cover revamping that went on with ...

I ran across a passing mention of Easy on Goodreads the day before yesterday. And, like any good reader on the hunt for the next new thing, I followed my sniffer to a reliable source or two. In this case, my sources were Jane from Dear Author (who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time at BEA this year) and Sarah of Clear Eyes, Full Shelves . That's right. Those kinds of reliable sources. And so something like five seconds passed between me reading their comments and me clicking the purchase button on my Nook. Somehow I had never heard of Tammara Webber before, but I was thrilled to find out this, her latest, was a new adult novel. I seem to always be in the mood for them these days, and new ones by new-to-me authors are positively sparkly with potential.  Don't you just love reading books that make you want to sit up and blog? That make you want to wave your reader flag high and recruit others to read it so that you can dish about it together at some future dat...

Full report to come . . .

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! Okay, deep breaths all around. Are you ready for another one of those retro reviews in which I regale you with nostalgic views of my childhood reading and rhapsodize on another heroine who contributed to making me who I am today? If you're not (and I totally would not blame you in the slightest-- I know how I can go on about these things), you should probably just swish on by, cause Alanna is sort of the mother of them all when it comes to characters who own a little piece of my soul . She's right smack dab there in the company of Harry, Aerin, Meg, and Dicey. As I think about those girls and the effect they initially had (and continue to have) on me, I'm back in that familiar circle of awe. What woul...