Angieville

I was pretty excited when I first heard about Re Jane . A contemporary Korean American retelling of Jane Eyre ? Yes, please. It's one of my favorite classics, and one I've had success (and some failures) with the retelling thereof. Authors do love to tinker with this tale. I've read every kind of version, from scifi and fantasy to steampunk and contemporary, and I am nothing if not up for another go. So I went into Patricia Park 's debut novel with somewhat high hopes, even having heard that the Rochester character's wife was in fact alive and kicking and not at all locked up in their Brooklyn brownstone's attic. I decided to give Ms. Park the benefit of the doubt. I also love this cover. So modern, so bright, so full of promise. Jane Re has thus far lived a lackluster life by most standards. She's spent her whole life under the thumb of her unloving and unmoving aunt and uncle, slaving away in the family grocery store at all hours and never quite managi...

I wanted to start the week off on a high note, and thanks to Penguin Books, I have a lovely giveaway of Patricia Park 's debut novel Re Jane  to share with you this morning. This is a contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre featuring a Korean American Jane and a whole new take on the classic tale. As you know, I am physically incapable of passing up a retelling of that particular story (my review should be up shortly), but first here's your chance to win a copy! This giveaway is open to those with U.S. mailing addresses. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter. The giveaway will be open through Monday, May 18th. a Rafflecopter giveaway

So last month's Austen redux naturally set me brooding on my favorite Bront ë  retellings/adaptations and how I feel differently about them. Which is to say that, for some reason, I'm more . . . open to them? I'm more often up for them? I'm not sure. I've certainly had my fair share of abysmal failures and, in fact, there are fewer total items on this list than on my Austen one. But. The ones that are  on this list are so well done they just resonate with me on a deep enough level that they are never far from my thoughts. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that for a long time I remained by and large unsatisfied with onscreen renditions of Mr. Rochester. Until Michael Fassbender came along (not perfect, mind you, but awfully  good). And before you ask, yes, yes, I adore Toby Stephens (see The Tenant of Wildfell Hall below), but he just wasn't quite dark enough for me as Rochester. Whereas on the Pride and Prejudice side of things, Colin Firth did suc...

The moment I heard about   a steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre, I geared up for its release. I am always up for a retelling of this book. And I've had spectacular success in the past. This one is not YA, or even New Adult, and I could tell it relied more heavily on the rich fantasy aspects of the world and story, all of which I was eager to fall into. I love the cover, particularly the iron mask, and everything about it just had the ring of excellence to it. This is not to say that I wasn't apprehensive, because there's always a bit of that when you go into a retelling of any kind, isn't there? But do any of you ever start to tire of your own wariness when it comes to upcoming releases? I go back and forth between feeling justifyingly jaded (particularly when it comes to oversaturated genres or tropes) and feeling like shaking off all my suspicion and caution and just jumping in like I used to as a kid. Because the exhaustion of both maintaining expectations and forci...

I'm delighted to be hosting this great giveaway, in conjunction with the March 11th release date of the new Jane Eyre film adaptation. That's right--it comes out today! Of course, it's not showing in any of the theaters near me because the universe hates me. But I will be doing whatever it takes to see it as soon as possible. Personally, I've yet to be fully satisfied with any of the adaptations of one of my favorite stories of all time. I love bits, pieces, huge swaths of all of them. But fully satisfied? Yet to happen. I have high hopes (as ever) for this latest version. So, the giveaway: Two (2) winners will receive: ·           Soundtrack sampler ·           Bookmark ·           Journal ·           Pencil ·           Copy of the book [movie tie-in edition] Give...

And the winners are . . . Evert and Melanie ! Congrats, you two! Be sure to contact me with your mailing addresses and Little, Brown will get those finished copies off to you soon. I loved hearing all your favorite retellings. Evert's is The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale and Melanie's are the retellings of Pride and Prejudice that Sourcebooks has been publishing recently. Thanks again to Little, Brown for offering up the books for giveaway and to all of you for stopping in and sharing your favorite retellings and/or love for Jane Eyre !

And in the spirit of the Jane giveaway we've got going on, here is the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Jane Eyre . It stars Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender and is set to release March 11th here in the U.S. I think it looks perfectly awesome and I'm so excited I can hardly wait. They've certainly adapted this story a number of times over the years and people tend to have definite opinions about their favorite version. Me, I get a little thrill with every one as it's just one of my favorite stories ever. So, who's going to go see it? 

Today I'm thrilled to help kick off the Jane blog tour. Since I've already reviewed the book here and interviewed author April Lindner here , Little, Brown suggested we do a two-book giveaway and I said, You're on! So now's your chance to enter to win one of two copies of the finished book. Those of you who've read my review know just how wild I went over this modern retelling of Jane Eyre and, if you haven't had a chance to read it yet, I highly recommend doing so as soon as is humanly possible . All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me your favorite retelling or, if you don't have one, why you want to read Jane . The giveaway will be open for one week and will close at midnight on Monday, November 15th. I'll announce the two winners the next day. This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. Please be sure to leave me a way of contacting you.

So lately I've been doing a lot of rereading. Hence the lack of new reviews. I do apologize, but I have to go where the literary whim dictates, you know? Stacks of new books and all I want to do right now is cuddle up with old friends. And so that's precisely what I've been doing and it's been blissful in the extreme, I must say. But this does not mean that I've stopped reading reviews around the blogosphere and on GoodReads . Oh, no. And I have to say I've been a bit bemused by quite a few of them lately. Maybe bemused is the wrong word. Outraged is probably too strong. Flummoxed, or even better-- incredulous --would most accurately describe my feeling upon reading disparaging, even disdainful reviews of books that I love, that own a little piece of my soul. So perhaps you'll pardon me if I go on just a little bit of a rampage. Before we go any further, let me just state for the record that everyone is entitled to her own opinion of any book. And they...

And the winner is . . . ibeeeg ! Congratulations! ibeeeg's favorite literary couple is Claire and Jamie from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon --a book I have yet to read despite countless glowing reviews. Just shoot me an email with your mailing info and I'll try to get your book off quickly. Thanks again to April for so kindly participating in the interview. And thank you to all of you who entered the giveaway. I really loved this one so much and can't wait for it to be published and see what you all think. I had to laugh at the sheer number of you who declared Elizabeth and Darcy your favorite literary couple. I adore them as well and they are unquestionably much beloved by such a wide swath of the population. Amazing. Other top couples include Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, and Margaret Hale and Mr. Thornton.

I'm very excited about today's interviewee. As you know, I had been looking forward to the publication of Jane for months when a review copy happened in my lap and I let out a gasp of joy. Being a modernized retelling of Jane Eyre with a rock star-ized Mr. Rochester named Nico and a cover that hits every last one of my aesthetic buttons, it was sort of made to order for this reader. Needless to say, it more than lived up to my not inconsiderable expectations and I have been recommending it on a pretty much daily basis to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors . . . you get the picture. It's now just under a month until the book is out and, in anticipation of the release, I invited  April Lindner over to dish about all things Jane. She kindly accepted. Please welcome April! First things first: The Cover. I am in deep smit with that cover. Did you have any input and what was your reaction upon seeing it for the first time? I adore the cover too, and was blown away the...

I have had my eye on this book ever since I saw Chelle feature it over at  Tempting Persephone  a few months back. As you know, I am a sucker of the largest order for a good retelling. Retold fairy tales in particular are a weakness of mine, but when I saw that  April Lindner 's upcoming novel  Jane   was, in fact, a modern retelling of  Jane Eyre , I didn't know my heart could beat quite that fast. I got my masters in literature, specifically Victorian lit, and  Jane Eyre   has been a special favorite of mine ever since I first read it on a cross country road trip when I was 14. As I am also a huge fan of historical fiction and YA, I think we can safely say I am sitting just about dead center in this novel's target audience. But it should also be noted that quite a bit of that quickening heartbeat can be chalked up to this breathtaking cover. I want to marry this cover. I think it perfectly conveys what you are getting with this package--from the...