Angieville

I will admit, I liked the cover of Allison Parr 's debut novel Rush Me right off the bat when I first saw it floating around the blogosphere. I could tell it was going to be marketed new adult as soon as I saw it, and that's probably a marketing win right there. But the reason I liked it was because everything I knew about the book seemed to come together in the cover. The bold stripes of color and the font work really well for this sports romance. I particularly liked the colors set across the black and white photo, and that the couple was sort of naturally or ordinarily presented (and attired). It was both a relief and an eye-catcher, if you will. I still waffled back and forth a bit on picking it up until I read Li's review over at Me and My Books . In it, she compared it to another new adult title she'd read and found this one to be decidedly preferred. Li has excellent taste, in case you were wondering. And so that (and the extremely attractive price) was all ...

Happy Memorial Day, guys! School is out this week, baseball practices are underway, swim lessons start soon, and I am definitely ready for summer. And some summer reads. That's why I thought it would be fun to host this fun beach bag giveaway as part of Harlequin's Summer of Love tour celebrating the release of the first three books in Bella Andre's Sullivans series. Don't miss The Look of Love (June 2013), From This Moment On (July 2013), and Can't Help Falling in Love (August 2013). One Angieville winner will receive a fabulous beach bag filled with summertime essentials from hot brands such as  O .P.I. ,  Evian , Not Your Mother’s Hair Care , and  Unisun Eyewear . But that's not all. To further celebrate, Harlequin is hosting the Bella Andre Summer of Love Mixtape Contest over on their Facebook page. Visit  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks   from   May 22nd – May 31 st   and create your   SUMMER OF LOVE   Mixtape for a chance to win...

So I actually read Samantha Young 's debut contemporary romance On Dublin Street quite awhile ago. And then I just never reviewed it. It may have simply gotten lost in the shuffle or I got distracted by some shiny object or what have you. The thing is, I enjoyed it fine. It lingered around the edges of my consciousness enough that I was looking forward to the sequel and immediately purchased a copy upon its release earlier this month. Down London Road takes place not long after the events of On Dublin Street and focuses on Joss' friend and co-worker Johanna. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, given that Johanna was not the most sympathetic of characters in the first book. But I'm coming to learn that those somewhat acerbic, occasionally deceptively simple side characters often come into their own with a vengeance when it's their turn in the spotlight. And I so love it when that happens. I was also awfully eager to return to the setting itself. I didn't g...

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish Presented without comment, because a picture speaks a . . . well, you know what I mean. 

It doesn't happen very often in life, that utterly unexpected sequel that drops in your lap years after the original book came out. Most of the time, you discover series you love and blow through them at lightning speed and then are left to pick up the shattered pieces of yourself when the whole glorious thing is over. Or you stumble across gold with the very first book and are forced to not-so-patiently wait one year (or more) for each new installment. But occasionally an author hits you with one out of left field. I first read and adored A Certain Slant of Light not too long after it was published in 2006. It felt like a perfectly contained standalone novel to me at the time. And it still is. If you only read that one, you will be left content. But there are a couple of . . . I hesitate to call them side characters . . . that you certainly would not object to spending more time with, if you know what I mean (series addicts: I know you know what I mean .) So when I discovered ...

My thanks to Jess over at Gone With the Words for bringing On the Island to my attention. I realize I'm likely the last person to the table here, but I literally had not heard anything about it before I ran across it on her list of books she liked way more than she thought she would. What a happy list, right? Then I sifted through the almost overwhelmingly positive reactions from my Goodreads peeps and decided this book I would normally have been firmly on the fence about might actually be a book very much for me. I don't generally go in for survival stories. And May-December relationships work for me even less often than survival stories do. A novel that combines both seemed doomed to DNF status. But. I had a feeling. One of those good ones. Originally self-published by Tracey Garvis Graves ,  On the Island was later picked up by Penguin. As far as the cover goes, I will simply say that I wish it reflected the harrowing nature of Anna's story a bit more. It wasn'...

I've written about my love for Jennifer Roberson 's Robin Hood retellings before . But imagine my delight when I saw they were being reissued this summer with these lovely new covers. These two companion novels have had a good variety of covers, from a sort of  old school fairy tale historica l to super romancey bare chestedness . All in the interest of attracting people from different reading backgrounds who might read and love these books. But I am kind of digging these new ones, as I think they have the potential to appeal to the widest spectrum of readers. I know I'll be snagging copies as soon as they're released on May 28th and June 25th respectively. They'll be just perfect for the re-read I feel coming on.

I feel like contemporary YA and I are going through a rough patch. We're having trouble seeing eye to eye. We seem to be going in different directions. We don't want the same things anymore. Take your pick. I realize this is likely just an unfortunate string of mismatches, but after a little while it's hard not to take it personally, you know? So much good chatter surrounded today's release of Jessi Kirby 's Golden . Not having ready Kirby's previous two novels, I found myself curious about the fervor. Then I heard whispers of a decade-old unresolved mystery and something about Robert Frost and I was on board . Somewhat uninspiring Generic Sunlit Girl cover aside, I like that it doesn't lead the reader too much as to what to expect inside. That combined with my lack of knowledge of the author's work in general made it possible for me to go in with fairly untouched expectations. Which is always a nice thing. Parker Frost (yes, that Frost her father ma...

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish It's hard when someone asks you for a "light, fun" read, isn't it? Often they just want something that won't require them to try too hard, that they can kick back and relax with. I know the feeling. At the same time, I'm always curiously reluctant to label any book as merely light and fun. If I return to them again and again when I need to get away, it's because there's something there. And that something and I are tight. We recognize each other whenever we cross paths. We are supremely happy to see each other again. So, we'll dispense with the light and go with the books that are fun for me. The ones that make me laugh and fill me with the joyful tingles. In alphabetical order: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - I laughed so hard within the first few pages, I had to stop and read the entire first chapter aloud to my husband and his family. It wasn't just...