Angieville

It's New Year's Eve and there are 25 books on my list this year, guys. Twenty. Five. Books. That's 10 more than last year, and I thought that was a respectable showing. So I guess we can safely say it was a solid twelve months, and I'm so grateful for all the books that moved in this year. Best of 2013 (in the order in which I read them) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers Big Boy by Ruthie Knox Shapeshifted by Cassie Alexander Rush Me by Allison Parr Down London Road by Samantha Young The Chocolate Touch by Laura Florand The Story Guy by Mary Ann Rivers Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater Her Favorite Temptation by Sarah Mayberry Truly by Ruthie Knox ...

I was having a discussion with my co-worker the other day about holiday book gifting. She said her husband traditionally gives only books at Christmas. Just books. They sit down together and carefully pick out a book for each person in the family, tall to small, and then place one whopping Barnes & Noble order. She mentioned they'd chosen Fangirl for one of his sisters at my recommendation (ah, the tingles, I hope she loves it as much as I do). Someone else was getting The Fault in Our Stars , another The One and Only Ivan . A litany of lovely reads. As I mentioned in my last review, this holiday season I've enjoyed rereading a couple of my favorite Christmas novellas from last year as well as discovering a new favorite or two. Silent in the Sanctuary has been calling my name as it always does at Christmas, and I've snuggled up in the light of the tree on several occasions. I've also been busy plotting and acquiring my bookish gifts for friends and loved ones....

If I stop and hold still for a minute, I can still feel the tingles I felt after finishing Scarlet last year. It was that good to read a new and, more importantly, impressive Robin Hood retelling. And it was impressive. From the gender-swapping and Scarlet's dialect to the individual members of the young band, each of them keeping their own secrets. I really had no idea where Ms. Gaughen would take them after everything spiraled so maddeningly out of control at the end. And now, having read it, I love how many times, and with what unflinching force, she surprised me in Lady Thief . I never saw things coming. I mean, I saw a couple of things coming. But by and large I gasped more than I nodded knowingly. And even now I can hear my husband laughing. He is used to my gasps. He is also used to me looking up with glassy eyes and whispering something along the lines of, "Everything is not okay." But more on that later. Some spoilers for the end of the first book I found i...

Last year I read my very first ever Christmas novellas and shocked myself at how much I enjoyed them. I mean I read a few duds, sure, but I read some real gems as well. And so a couple of weeks ago I found myself eagerly looking forward to rereading a couple of my favorites this holiday season as well as hopefully discovering a few new ones. Happily, the very first new one I read proved to be a home run. I kind of knew it would be, given how much I loved Mary Ann Rivers ' debut novella The Story Guy  earlier this year. When I heard her next book was a Christmas novella in the Heating up the Holidays anthology, I snatched it up the day it released and snuggled up with my Nook for a little pre-holiday reading. I hadn't read any works by the other two authors in the collection (I actually still haven't read their contributions, though I plan on it at some point), but I can tell you the ebook bundle is utterly worth it for Rivers' story alone. Jenny Wright was diagnos...

New series alert! To me, at least. I'm over @ Dear Author today with my review of the first book in Jenn Bennett 's Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series - Kindling the Moon .  Sarah , this one goes out to you. Rest assured, I will be back for more.

"Then you'll be afraid."  Can't. Wait.

I'm delighted to be participating in the blog tour for One & Only by Viv Daniels (aka Diana Peterfreund). Today, Viv is here with a guest post on her favorite college class and we've got a fabulous giveaway prize pack for one lucky reader. Be sure to check out the tour wide giveaway that's running concurrently! One night they can't forget... Tess McMann lives her life according to the secrets she's sworn to keep: the father who won't acknowledge her, the sister who doesn't know she exists, and the mother who's content playing mistress to a prominent businessman. When she meets the distractingly cute Dylan Kingsley at a prestigious summer program and falls in love, Tess allows herself to imagine a life beyond these secrets. But when summer ends, so does their relationship -- Dylan heads off to Canton College while Tess enrolls at the state university. One love they can't ignore... Two years later, a scholarship brings Tess to Canton and b...

How long has it been since I read a really good horror novel? And how did I not realize going in that that's exactly what Sorrow's Knot was? I read Erin Bow 's debut novel Plain Kate when it came out and was suitably impressed with her writing, even though the book as a whole didn't work for me perfectly. But as soon as I heard that her sophomore novel was to be an indigenous tale of ghosts and the generations of women who bind them, I felt certain I would be reading it as soon as I got the chance. It just sounded too intriguing to miss. I wasn't entirely sold on the cover, and now after having read it I kind of wish they'd gone with something darker (less mystic blue) to more accurately match the chilling content hidden within its pages. Because make no mistake— Sorrow's Knot is an unapologetically terrifying gem of a tale. In fact, it rather resists classification. It's fantasy, but oh, it's horror. It's young adult, but it's really ver...

Happy Halloween!

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here @ 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 remember first running across Eileen Wilks ' name in the On the Prowl compilation I purchased solely because it contained Patricia Briggs ' first Alpha & Omega novella (fabulous, by the way). I never really sat down and read the other novellas, though. Now I'm wishing I had so that I could have discovered Wilks' writing much sooner. Instead, it took my buddy in all things urban fantasy Chachic throwing herself headlong into a glom of Wilks' World of the Lupi series to convince me to give the it a shot. And what a time to come in to a new series. The World of the Lupi is currently 10 full books in and going strong! Plenty of adventure to keep me busy in between waiting for the next book...

So tell me. Which are your favorite Great Expectations adaptations? I've really only watched the Jean Simmons/Anthony Hopkins one with any regularity. I do love the book (it was my first Dickens). And I'd be interested in falling in love with a film adaptation of it if you'd be so kind as to share your favorites. What do you think of this upcoming one due out next month?

Two trusted authors and a debut. Two contemporaries and a fantasy. Two YAs and an adult. However you slice it, these three pretties are utterly charming and I am eager as can be to get my hands on them. 2014, you are looking good, my friend. Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern I'm kind of crushing on this adorable cover and its tagline, "Sometimes love is everything you can't say." Disabled teen Amy has one goal for her senior year of high school: make a single real friend. In Matthew she finds that and more. Touted for fans of Eleanor & Park (which I still have to read), this one has my attention. Due out June 3rd It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning You all know my feelings on Ms. Manning's Unsticky . Ahem. The unacknowledged daughter of a famous rock star, Ellie's life has been quiet until the paparazzi ferret her out. Amid the chaos enters her father's disturbingly charming (and ruthless) lawyer and, well, I really can't wait....

I swear this won't become a daily thing! But I just couldn't shut up about J.C. Daniels ' Colbana Files, and so today my review of book two is up over at Dear Author . Things get real, guys. I was not okay after finishing it. 

Today, I'm embarking on little bit of a new venture. I'll be reviewing a couple (or three or four, my mileage will I am sure vary) books a month over at Dear Author . These will be urban fantasy and parnormals, and I am so thrilled to be leading off with the first book in an urban fantasy series that took over my life the minute I started it. Make sure to drop by today to see what I thought of J.C. Daniels' Blade Song . 

Similar to when Elias sees Josie for the first time, I fell in love with this cover the moment I clapped eyes on it. And, like Elias, I was nervous, given that I knew next to nothing about it and the level of affection I was feeling extended way beyond our limited introduction. But something in its lines, in the lovely design had me thinking it just might be something I could love long term. I immediately ran down the usual sites, routine investigation, you understand. Happily, it wasn't long before a copy landed in my lap for review. I have to say, I'm kind of crushing on the elegance of this cover. As someone who doesn't gravitate toward super-romancey covers in general, I'll admit this one was something of a breath of fresh air.  A Man Above Reproach is Evelyn Pryce 's debut novel. It recently won Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award in the romance category and it is due out in paperback from Montlake Romance later this month. I don't think I've ever ...

All I can think is how pretty it's going to look up there next to my copy of Scarlet . Well, that and how much I need to get my hands on it. Because I really loved the first book. It was the first Will Scarlet gender swap I'd read and everything about it worked for me. I'm so glad this sequel is finally in the offing, because that ending . . . talk about leaving all your balls up in the air ready to crash down at any moment. I need to know these characters are going to be all right. I love Scarlet's eyes on this cover. I full expect her to cause no small amount of mayhem to get herself (and the boys) out of the heinous predicament they're in. Lady Thief is due out February 11th. Are you excited?

I feel like I've been waffling on whether or not to read this book for years now even though it's only been a few months. The thing is, I really enjoyed the first half of Rainbow Rowell 's Attachments . I really, really did. And then I was summarily disappointed with the second half. I don't know if it was me or the fact that I read it immediately after giving birth and that just rarely ever works out for me or what. But the direct result was that I stayed away from Eleanor & Park , despite it's adorable cover and quirky premise. And I was apparently still shell-shocked enough that I was going to just go ahead and pass on Fangirl if it wasn't for Janice 's enthusiastic review some weeks back. I thought I was just sort of waltzing around lacking the Rowell gene, when in fact I simply hadn't found my gateway book. So, Janice. Can I send you a book bouquet or a fruit basket or some such gift of gratitude? Because I'm kind of having a hard ti...