Angieville

It's New Year's Eve, and I've managed to compile my best of 2011 list. I've come to realize I don't really believe in top tens. They're so limiting. When have I ever been able to fit anything I love into an even ten? So here are my top 14 favorite books of the year. Best of 2011 (in order of publication) River Marked by Patricia Briggs Children of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion House of Silence by Linda Gillard Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins A Lily Among Thorns by Rose Lerner How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater FYI, that's 3 urban fantasies, 4 contemporaries, 2 historicals, 1 fantasy, 1 mystery, 1 m...

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! Do we have time for one last Retro Friday review for the year? I figured it ought to be a good one. And since I reviewed Daughter of the Forest a few weeks back, it seemed only right to close the year out with the sequel. Just another one of those perfect books I read before I started reviewing books and then sort of shied away from reviewing because it's well nigh impossible to do justice to a book you have all the feelings for, you know? It also happens that this is not only one of my very favorite books of all time but one of my favorite winter reads, as the night of Midwinter's Eve plays rather a large role in the story.  Son of the Shadows is one of those unexpected wonders and another example of...

. . . and to all, a good night.

Last night we went up to my sister-in-law's house to meet our newest niece. And in between oohing and ahhing over her indisputable adorableness, I got to take a peek at my oldest niece's bookshelves. Anna's twelve and a reader. The real deal. And I'll admit that I got a little thrill when I saw that she owns not one but two copies of   Robin McKinley 's  Beauty .  I had to take a pic of the one edition, because I've never actually seen a copy in real life, and, because, really, it's too spectacularly 80s for words: I feel compelled to point out how appalled this particular Beauty would be at this representation of herself. But otherwise? Yup. Too spectacularly 80s for words.

Watching and rewatching this is making me incredibly happy. Especially the part where Richard Armitage sings. *quietly fangirls*

I love this cover. It has all kinds of interpretations once you've read the book, and I've enjoyed contemplating all of them after the fact. Linda Gillard 's novels have become comfort reads for me when I'm looking for quietly moving stories with a hefty amount of substance to match the touching moments. I would not categorize any of them as "cozy" reads. There's far too much pain and history in them for that. Rather they are meaningful and full of thoughtful explorations and characters whose feet are a bit more rooted to the ground than you sometimes find in similar novels of a lighter nature. Having read and loved Ms. Gillard's first self-published novel House of Silence , I was nothing but excited when I heard she had another coming out just a few short months later. On an only slightly related note, do you ever bemoan the fact that you've never had the chance to run hell bent for leather through a field in a wedding dress? It just never occu...

And the winner is . . . Sarah (Escaping Through Books) ! Congratulations! Sarah's favorite fairy tale has always been Sleeping Beauty. That was definitely a favorite of those who entered the giveaway, including a shout-out for Spindle's End --my favorite version of it. More favorites included Cinderella (appropriately), The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. And one mention of The Seven Swans--a personal favorite of mine. So if you could send me your contact info, Sarah, we'll be happy to get your package on its way. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for hosting the giveaway and to all of you for stopping in and sharing your favorites!

Today you can find me over at Not Enough Bookshelves guest posting on my favorite couple from 2011. I know! How did I narrow it down? It was agonizing. But I think I landed on the two that really set my pulse permanently racing this year. If you've got a minute, be sure to drop in and see who it was . This is the third year running Alexa has hosted her Christmas Couples Countdown and it's always a blast, especially as we usually have several favorite duos in common. Happy holiday reading, everyone!

I'm pleased to host a giveaway today of the audiobook of Cinder by Marissa Meyer . This cyberpunk/scifi retelling of Cinderella has a lot going for it (you can read my review here ). The book and audiobook are due out January 1st. But Macmillan Audio is letting us in on a sneak peek of the audio version below. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment with your favorite fairy tale and your contact information, and you'll be entered to win the audiobook! This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only and will end at midnight on December 9th. 

Today you can find me over at The Book Smugglers kicking off their annual Smugglivus celebrations! The usual awards will be given out. Think you can guess who I picked for Best Declaration? Villain? Ridiculously Charming Hero? Be sure to stop on by to see who and say hi!

It's taken me forever to get around to reviewing this one, and I feel bad about that, because I don't want that lag time to be a reflection of my reaction to it. At all . This is actually the second Kristan Higgins book I read immediately after inhaling All I Ever Wanted a few months back. It's also her newest publication, and I was interested to see if I liked her new stuff as well. You know how sometimes you really connect with an author's work from a certain "period," if you will? And then some of their other works don't quite do it for you? I really hoped this wouldn't be the case with Higgins. Given how blissfully I fell into my first of her books, I had all sorts of appendages crossed for more of the same. I knew she had a huge fan following, but I also knew that (much like Jennifer Crusie or Julie James ) people seem to really have their favorites and the ones they just didn't like much at all. Case in point, I thought  All I Ever Want...

I feel a bit like I'm drowning looking at these three watery covers. But I'm kind of drawn to them as well. I love the font on New Girl and the other two are creepy and grand in their own way. I've never read anything by any of these authors. All three due are out in the first half of next year, and I'm interested to find out more. When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellison Eerie cover, no? And the contents sound fairly grim as well, but in a most intriguing way. Arranged marriages, fake deaths, vampires, magic from the ocean, and washing dishes in the slums. As Abed would say, "Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool." Due out February 28th. New Girl by Paige Harbison This one caught my eye because it's a contemporary retelling of Rebecca . I know! The mind boggles at the possibilities. Set at the prestigious Manderley Academy (lol) where the "new girl" is trying to fit in in a world where the name Becca Normandy is on everybody's lips. Aw...

This cover. This cover is in the running for my favorite cover of the coming year! I love it that much. And I love the title. And, even more than both of those put together, I love the premise of a sci-fi/cyberpunk retelling of Cinderella with a cyborg as the main character. You should have seen my face when I first found out about Cinder . It's like Marissa Meyer asked me for my list of all that is good and then slapped them together into this book. Add to that the fact that it's the first in a quartet (oh, how I love quartets, see this one , and this one , oh, and this one over here ), and the name of the series is the Lunar Chronicles. I don't know . . . it kind of seemed like this book and I were a match made in heaven. I've been reading sci-fi for as long as I can remember, and I feel like we don't get enough of it these days in young adult fiction. So I would have been on board for that aspect of the book alone. But a sci-fi/fairy tale mashup? Fuggedabout i...

R etro 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. I first read A Woman of the People for an assignment in my 7th grade English class in San Antonio as part of our Texas literature unit. I loved it then. I really did. And I wasn't expecting to. I had recently moved to the Lone Star state from the island of Sicily and things were . . . a little different. Which is a really understated way of saying I was hopelessly unequal to the task of handling the differences between living in Italy and living in Texas. On top of that it was 7th grade, and 7th grade, as you know, is hell. I wasn't comfortable in my own skin. I wasn't comfortable back in the states. And I certainly wasn't comfortable at the middle school with its walls that felt as though they were closing in on me a little close...

Oh. Holy. Crap.

R etro 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. I ran across Carpe Diem around four years ago in the Feiwel & Friends catalog. They had the excellent good sense to reprint the wonderful President's Daughter series by Ellen Emerson White, and I wondered what other YA titles they had on the docket at the time. My eye was drawn to this cover right off the bat, and I still think it's just perfect for the book. I love the slightly faded parchment look of it. With the silhouette and the hair and the style it could be anything really. In this case, it's a contemporary novel about a girl who goes on the trip of a lifetime and who's priorities are rearranged a bit as a result. I never hear very much about the book around the blogosphere and I wonder if it just sort of flitted and fl...

Okay. I'm not saying that this blog is necessarily going to become a repository for all things Robin Hood. Not as such . But you are all familiar with my . . . what's the word . . . thing . . .   for thieves. And Robin is perhaps the thief I've loved the longest. So it should come as no surprise when I say that I was filled with glee when I first heard about A. C. Gaughen 's upcoming retelling-- Scarlet . I liked the cover and, without running down too many spoilery details, I looked forward to the focus on Will Scarlet and the fact that it hailed from a debut author. All of these things add up to that most wonderful of things--possibility. I've reviewed both my favorite Robin Hood retellings for past Retro Friday reviews. And I've read quite a few more. They have all been interesting reads aimed at a variety of types and ages of readers. This particular one is being marketed YA, and I wondered idly, as I anticipated the book, what form my beloved charact...

It's covertastic around these parts lately! This time in a very good way. Here you have the absolutely gorgeous cover for Diana Peterfreund 's upcoming novel For Darkness Shows the Stars . My excitement for this post-apocalyptic retelling of Persuasion (yes, you have my permission to swoon from the sheer awesome) has been building for some time now, and I am thrilled to finally see the actual cover. I love it. Love the sweep of the dress, the stars, the font, her hair. Love it all. Your thoughts? For Darkness Shows the Stars   is due out June 12th.

So I was prowling the shelves of my local bookstore, and I found myself (as I often do) trailing my fingers along the spines of Tamora Pierce 's Alanna books. When what to my wondering eyes did appear but a new set of covers on my beloved old books. I pulled them out quickly, eager to see what kind of artwork they'd gone with this time. For the record, I own three different editions of this series: my original copies from way back when, the interesting mini-hardcovers they put out several years ago, and the somewhat more recent, fun black paperbacks Simon Pulse published. But I am nothing if not open to a possible fourth set. These are the new covers of the first two and fourth books: Not too bad, right? A little generic. I mean, the halo thing is all right, and she has a kind of Peter Pan quality on the first one that is charming and will hopefully bring in some new young readers. So not too bad overall. Unfortunately, this is the cover of the third book: Whaaa . ...

I actually don't remember the last booky meme I filled out. And so when I ran across this fun (quick!) one over at Read the Book , I decided it looked like just the thing. 1. Book I am currently reading: Cinder by Marissa Meyer I love everything about this idea. I'm about 80 pages in right, and so far so good! 2. Last book I finished: Untying the Knot by Linda Gillard Linda writes some of my very favorite contemporary adult titles. This is her latest and, as usual, I fell right into it. Review to come. 3. Next book I want to read: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams Entirely because of this review . I can only hold off a trip to the bookstore for so long. It must be mine soon. 4. Last book I bought: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce Because even though I wasn't crazy about the previous book in the trilogy, this is the third and final book, and I find I do want to see how Beka's story turns out. 5. Last book I was given: Imaginary Lands by Robin McKin...

R etro 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. I look forward to this season every year because it means I get to reread Sunshine . This is one of my few solid seasonal reads. I revisit it every year for so many reasons. Because it originally came out in October. Because it absolutely encapsulates autumn for me. And Halloween, of course, what with all the vampires and the midnight outings and the smell of fallen leaves and cinnamon rolls in the air. And because it's just one of the biggest Angie books there is. I remember being almost apoplectic with excitement when I heard Robin McKinley was writing a vampire novel. The whole notion filled me with tingles. And imagine how happy I was when it turned out to be better than I could ever have imagined. I know people have strong f...