Angieville

You can check out my best of the year category rundown over at The Book Smugglers , but today on New Year's Eve I'm posting my Best Books of 2009 list. Best of 2009 (in order of publication) Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn Marcelo in the Real Worl d by Francisco X. Stork Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready Tap & Gown by Diana Peterfreund The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff Heroes at Risk by Moira J. Moore Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater Fire by Kristin Cashore Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines FYI, that's 3 urban fantasies, 6 YAs (2 contemporary, 2 urban fantasy, 2 scifi/dystopian), 2 mysteries, 1 contemporary, 1 fantasy, and 1 historical. Best New Discovery of 2009 Megan Whalen Turner aka MWT, The Turner, the fantabulously gifted, clever, smarter-than-me author of the all k...

It seems as though The Demon's Lexicon has been on my radar for ages now. I can't remember where I originally heard about it, but I've had a good feeling from early on, ever since I heard it was about two brothers who fought dark forces. What can I say? I'm a sucker for brothers. It's a relationship you don't often see done really well. Or not as often as you'd like. I really hoped this one was done well. As the reviews came rolling in, they all certainly seemed to indicate Sarah Rees Brennan 's debut novel was spectacular. I'm only sorry it's taken me so long to get around to it. I was happy to find it nominated for a Cybils award and looked forward to it coming up in my towering nightstand stack. A note on covers : I've posted the UK cover here because I am just so in love with it. That is what Nick looks like. Dark and confused and angry, with the silhouette of ravens and the city behind him. Not like the model dude on the U.S. cover . ...

Just wanted to drop a few links this evening for your browsing pleasure. The Best of 2009 lists are popping up all over the place and, until I finish trimming mine down, I wanted to highlight just a few of my favorites thus far. Be sure to check out Michelle's list over at See Michelle Read . Her categories are great, including Best Throwback, Best Author Discovery, and Best YA...Period. Unsurprisingly, I'm with her in every particular. Pamela over at The Discriminating Fangirl has posted her Top Ten of 2009 list and it's solid. Some I've read, some I haven't, a shout out to the new Star Trek movie *love*, and even a Shallow Honorable Mention category. Hehe. Amy of My Friend Amy has put together a rather fun, awfully sweet list entitled 2009--Blogs I Have Loved , in which she highlights bloggers who have touched, challenged, and entertained her this year. Definitely give it a read-through. And last but certainly not least, if you haven't dropped by Ilona And...

I know, I know. There's been a huge gap between my reviews of the first three Vampire Academy books and this review of the fourth one. All I can say is it's been insane this month with the holidays and the Cybils reading, my little boy's birthday, and my anniversary, etc. On the bright side, it has all combined to give my thoughts time to percolate somewhat on Blood Promise . I had been warned in advance that, give my reactions to the first three books, this one might not be my favorite. At the same time others encouraged me with the promise of a measurably higher Adrian quotient in this installment, which might well factor into shoving the Siberian chunkmeister that is this book to the forefront of the series. Either way I was very interested to find out just how Rose handled the fallout from the painfully messy end of Shadow Kiss . A WARNING: beyond this point lie unavoidable spoilers for the series. Proceed at your peril. Rose is leaving St. Vlad's once again, this...

It's late Christmas night here and we're all cozy and warm and ready to turn in for the night. I hope yours was merry and bright and full of wonder and good books. Merry Christmas!

Today I'm guest blogging over at The Book Smugglers as part of their 2nd annual Smugglivus celebrations. This is my second time posting for Smugglivus and once again I'm handing out awards for my favorites of '09 and talking about what I'm looking forward to in 2010. I hope you stop by and say hi !

It's that time of year again. The holiday season is in full swing and the phone at Chez Angie starts ringing off the hook. Friends and family checking in asking for book recommendations to give as gifts. For the record, these are my very favorite sort of calls to get. I love searching out the perfect book for someone, passing on the info, and then sitting back with my mug of cider and just savoring how that book will be enjoyed by that someone. If I'm extra lucky, I get to hear about it later. A lot of great books came out this year and I have enjoyed spreading the word about them. Some of them famous and some of them deserving of so much more attention than they got. As well as a host of perennial favorites. Books I'm giving away this year include: Diana Peterfreund 's Secret Society Girl series , Juliet Marillier 's Sevenwaters series , Graceling and Fire by Kristine Cashore , The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins , Girl in the Arena by Lise ...

I've had my eye on Zo ë Marriott 's second novel, Daughter of the Flames , since I read Chelle's review lo these many months ago. So I was happy to see it pop up on my Cybils reading list. I've read several books lately that have had an Asian/Middle Eastern flavor to them and was surprised and very much pleased to find Daughter of the Flames did as well. This was my first novel by Ms. Marriott and I was both looking forward to giving a new author a shot and in the mood for some more traditional fantasy. It's also worth it to point out the rather lovely cover this novel sports. The flames and curlicues are swirlingly lovely, enough so that the fact that Zira doesn't look quite as I pictured her isn't any kind of stumbling block at all. Zira is a trained warrior. A novice with a face full of scars and a forgotten past, she perches right on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday. At the same time she anxiously awaits her superior's decision on whether she wi...

Just a quick post to note that Juliet Marillier 's next Sevenwaters book--the sequel to the wonderful Heir to Sevenwaters --now has a title! Seer of Sevenwaters will be out December of next year (!) and will feature Clodagh's younger sister Sibeal. If you're like me, you've been waiting for Sibeal to get her own book ever since Child of the Prophecy came out. *rubs hands together*

Three (actually, four) authors I absolutely love. Three red and black covers to drool over. They all write and work in different ways and I am very much looking forward to their latest offerings. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan Brought to you by the author of Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines and the author of Love is the Higher Law and co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist , Will Grayson, Will Grayson tells the story of two boys with that same name who are about to meet one night in Chicago. Told in alternating point of view chapters, this collaborative novel has been in the works for awhile. And with these two authors at the helm there are two things guaranteed: I'm going to laugh and I'm going to care about these characters. Absolutely cannot wait to read it. Due out April 6th. White Cat by Holly Black Ever since I closed Ironside , I have been impatiently waiting for Holly Black 's next Big Thing and Whi...

...is In. The. House. *dies*

As soon as I heard about Sarah Beth Durst 's retelling of the East of the Sun, West of the Moon fairy tale , I felt that old familiar tug. I've read Edith Pattou's East and Jessica Day George 's Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow and enjoyed parts of both of them very much, though neither captured my imagination the way I really wanted them to. You see, as it is basically a Norse version of Beauty and the Beast, I've always felt I ought to love this fairy tale more than I do. But I've been vaguely but persistently dissatisfied with every retelling I've read. I'm beginning to think this is a problem with the source material, a mismatch between us if you will, and not necessarily with the retellings themselves. As I've talked about before , it's a problematic storyline in many ways and particularly difficult to pull off in novel form, I think. Yet somehow I eagerly anticipate each new attempt, hoping this one will be the one. Cassie loves ice. She was ra...

...has been keeping me insanely busy lately. Werewolves and banshees and selkies , oh my! But I promise to have some reviews up this week. In the meantime I'm leaving you with a couple of buttons I managed to whip up in my "spare time." You know, in case you wanna slap one up somewhere. Now you can pick your poison:

I love the line in 84, Charing Cross Road where Helene writes to Frank telling him, I require a book of love poems with spring coming on. Do you ever feel that way? You can feel a particular season or time approaching and you start to itch for a certain read you always associate with that time or season. It happens to me regularly and last night I realized I require a holiday read with Christmas coming on. I evaluated my shelves and discovered that I don't have a specific book I read every Christmas season or even every winter. This is clearly Not Okay. And so I'm putting the question out there, asking for your recommendations. What are you favorite holiday reads? Because I'm craving a good one.

I knew it wouldn't be long after the New Moon movie came out before the highly talented Cleolinda would have her New Moon in Fifteen Minutes up for public devouring. So for this version of Giggles , hie thee to Cleo's place and laugh yourself silly over her rundown of the latest offering from the Twilight verse. While you're there, check out her other hysterical recaps , including Twilight ! And while you're here, did you see the flick? I did. What did you think?

Here it is! The cover for Ilona Andrews ' fourth Kate Daniels novel -- Magic Bleeds . I am seriously aching to get my hands on this one. As you know, Magic Strikes (the 3rd Kate book) knocked my socks off and I can only imagine what the contents of the next one will do to me. What do you think of this cover? I love all the snow. And His Furry Majesty, of course. And Slayer. Ilona has written a post addressing some readers' concerns about what will happen in Magic Bleeds . She talks about trusting the author to know what's best for her characters and her world and it's just the most fabulous post . I highly recommend you go read it. In the meantime I'll just be here admiring the pretty cover and vainly wishing it was May 25th already!

It's one roller coaster ride reading all these Vampire Academy books back to back like this. I'm actually starting to have trouble keeping the events separate and compartmentalized in my head. It all feels like one headlong rush to me. I maintain that the world itself is the real draw. I like how cold it feels, how dangerous and yet limned with the hint of hope and possibilities. The characters are full of potential and somehow keep their hooks in me despite the fact that I still feel parched in the depth department. Shadow Kiss is the third installment in Richelle Mead 's very popular Vampire Academy series and, though it's taken me awhile to get around to reading them, I have blown through them without a backward glance. Rose isn't the same girl anymore. Having bagged her first Strigoi and watched her friend die at their hands, she endures the ceremonial tattooing process with an almost detached stoicism. The moment was in no way, shape, or form the way she imagi...

I'm really not sure about these two on the cover. The only conclusion I can come to is that it's Christian and Lissa, though I'm sure it's supposed to be Rose and Dimitri. And while I can buy that that girl could be Lissa, the dude is definitely not Christian. Or Dimitri. Ah, well. So I picked up the second Vampire Academy book hoping for more standout world building and perhaps a little more in-depth character development. I finished Vampire Academy enthused about the series' possibilities, but a little disenchanted with the characters as well as the info-dump climax. The villain starts monologuing and I'm rolling my eyes. I do enjoy Richelle Mead 's smooth writing and the upfront approach she takes to running her characters through the mill and seeing what comes out on the other side. So I went into Frostbite with an open mind. Life at St. Vlad's has entered a sort of holding pattern. Rose and Dimitri have agreed to stay away from each other "s...

You know how if you don't start a series it can never let you down? I'd been avoiding Richelle Mead 's Vampire Academy books for that very reason. I kept reading encouraging reviews from reliable sources and just not following through on picking up the first book. Then the Cybils rolled around and Blood Promise , the fourth Vampire Academy book, was nominated. And since it's almost physically impossible for me to read a series out of order, I decided it was time to jump in. I'd managed to avoid knowing much of anything about the series, so it was quite fun to be immersed in a completely new world. This was also my first Richelle Mead book and I was interested to get a feel for her style. Rose and her best friend Lissa are on the run. For two years they've been traveling from city to city, posing as college freshman. Rose is determined to fulfill her duty and protect Lissa at all cost from the danger pursuing them. Lissa is a vampire princess and Rose is a hal...

Hold the phone. I just now came across the cover for Deanna Raybourn 's upcoming standalone novel-- The Dead Travel Fast . They've clearly designed this cover to match up well with Mira 's re-issues of Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey novels. What do you think? I love the title, which is a line from Bram Stoker's Dracula . Interestingly, when he says it, Jonathan Harker is actually quoting an even older source--a poem by Gottfried Burger entitled "Lenore." I am such a huge fan of Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey mysteries and I'm very excited to see what happens when she ventures into all new territory. All I know is that it follows a British woman, takes place in the 1850s, and is set in Transylvania. Those three things, combined with the fact that it's written by Ms. Raybourn, mean I absolutely cannot wait to read it! The Dead Travel Fast is due out March 1st.

Several years ago, while wandering through the science fiction and fantasy section of the local Media Play, I crouched down to see what was on the bottom shelf in the M section. My eyes caught on a book that was faced out and that featured two warriors, one red-headed and one blonde, both of them sporting copious amounts of cloudy hair and swooping kilts, clutching swords in their hands. I'd never heard of Kingmaker's Sword or author Ann Marston before, but I decided to pick it up based on the fact that it was a mass market paperback (and thus inexpensive) and that I liked the colors and the soft, matte finish to the cover. I noted that it was the first in a trilogy--the Rune Blade trilogy--and that the other two books were on the shelf so I could easily come back for them if the first book entertained. Mouse is a slave. Dubbed Foxmouse because of his flaming red hair, he is now known as just Mouse and he is about to make his escape. Two nights ago his sole friend in the world...

This meme 's been floating around for ages now and it's very simple. Compile a list of your top 10 favorite television couples and pass it on. I have to say this was one of the funnest memes I've filled out if just for all the memories it dredged up. I find the breakdown interesting: four sitcoms, four dramas, one supernatural drama, and one science fiction/space western. Hehe. These aren't in order of favorites, but rather in the rough order in which the series came out. Angela and Jordan I knew right away these two would be on my list as they've got to be the first TV couple that really captured my attention as a teen. I mean I was just a little younger than Angela when I discovered My So-Called Life . We shared a name, a penchant for slumping, and an intense longing for something--we weren't even sure what it was. Maybe it wasn't really Jordan Catalano after all, but he sure was worth hanging around to find out. I'm in love. His name is Jordan Catal...

Today I would like to direct your attention over to The Book Smugglers site, where Thea and Ana have posted their joint review of The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White . Awhile back the Smugglers dared me to read Mr. Impossible -- my first romance novel--and, since turnabout's fair play, I decided to dare them back. I went with one of my all-time favorite authors and books and hoped for the best. So head on over and see what they thought of it!

These three make me rather weak in the knees. You can just tell by looking at the covers that these pretties pack a punch when it comes to fantasy and epic tasks/quests/journeys, etc. I'm looking forward to each one with incredible amounts of anticipation and I've only read one of these authors before! Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta Ever since coming up for air after finishing Melina Marchetta 's Jellicoe Road , I have been impatiently waiting for Finnikin of the Rock to be released. Already published in Australia, *pout* it's taken its sweet time making its U.S. debut. But I have it on good authority it is going to be well worth the wait. In a world of fever camps, wandering exiles, and cursed kingdoms, young Finnikin joins forces with the reckless Evanjalin in a bid to save the land of Lumatere from the evil that threatens to swallow it. This could be a novel about paint drying and, after the wonder that was Jellicoe Road , I would read it in a heartbeat....