Angieville

It really is a pretty cover. And dragons. I love them so.  It's been far too long since I've read a book in which dragons played any kind of primary character role. They do here, and they are probably my favorite aspect of this book. But more on that later. It's probably worth noting that I, like the rest of the world, was aware of Fourth Wing and the collective losing of BookTok's mind over it. I mean, it was kind of thrilling to hear that you couldn't find a copy anywhere—in the sense that I love it when books are being consumed and loved. And when that happens in such a way that it takes publishing by surprise (for lack of a better way to phrase it) so much so that they have to scramble to print more. So I did the sensible thing and bought the ebook. And then I proceeded to do the not-so-sensible-but-extremely-Angie thing and not read it. There was a cross-country move tucked in there somewhere between the buying and the reading, but more on that at a later date...

Since I thought I'd start with the two most egregious reviewing gaps, you get Wayward Son next. I hope this is agreeable to all and sundry. And let's just agree not to pull any punches, shall we? I'll start by admitting that this book wrecked my life. To be clear, I am not complaining. It's just that it had been a long time, yeah? A long time since  Carry On came out. Just such a very long time since I'd been in the company of these two. And their crew. And I thought I was ready. Don't I always? Must remember to learn from past mistakes. But more than that, I wasn't thinking about the fact that of course Rainbow Rowell would create nothing less than the sequel that would naturally follow the events at the end of Carry On. Which is to say a sequel that would hurt . Because everything about what happened to Simon Snow from the beginning of his life to his graduation from Watford was designed to damage. With the shining exceptions of Penny and Baz. And so th...

I haven't wanted to talk about this. With  anyone.  But I think I probably need to. That like Georgina, I need to use my words to break the curse. I think that like Sam, I need to believe in my cure. So I'm going to talk about it here, and maybe you can help. Since pandemic type things got real in my neck of the woods, I haven't been able to read. I haven't been able to  reread . This has (and I am not exaggerating) never happened to me before  in my life.  I know it happens frequently to most everyone. And I have certainly always been a mood reader. It's not in any way uncommon for me to drift from book to book, from shelf to shelf in my library, until I land upon the right thing. But that drifting tends to occur over the course of a few hours. Not ever does it occur over the course of a few days or, God forbid, weeks.  I feel like I'm losing my mind. And, yes, I am fully aware of where this problem likely rates on the triviality scale in the current schem...

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl It's been awhile, but this topic was too good to pass up. When I thought about it, I genuinely could not recall which were the first ten books I actually reviewed here on the blog. So then, of course, I had to know . The thing is, I originally started the whole thing simply posting a once a month list of my favorite reads and rereads of the month. That went on for some time until lo and behold I went ahead and wrote and posted my first review on November 9, 2007. In hindsight, I probably should have known exactly which book pushed me over the edge into full fledged reviews. So this was a rather delightful journey back in time. Do you remember the first book you ever reviewed (in any forum) or what made you take the plunge? Here are my first ten (and I have to say, looking at this snapshot from the past, these remain some of my absolute favorite authors and a pretty spot-on array of the genres I read and l...

I can't resist with these three. I love a good illustrated cover so much, and these three are not only just beautiful but include a couple of delicious retellings, a debut novel, and at least three young women who sound as fierce and determined and real as I could hope for on this International Women's Day. Put them on your calendars. I'm feeling the good feelings. The Guinevere Deception   by  Kiersten White This cover, you guys.  This cover . . .  I love it so much. And I haven't read a good Arthurian retelling in far too long. In this version, Guinevere is not at all what she seems. Summoned by Merlin to keep Arthur safe, she is a changeling who gives everything up to protect Camelot. GOOD YES GOOD. Due out November 5th Wicked Fox   by  Kat Cho Set in modern day Seoul, this debut features a young woman who is actually an ancient being that must devour the souls of men in order to survive. Matters are significantly complicated when she saves a y...

The first review of the year! Writing this one always feels fresh and hopeful to me and like it may set the tone of my reading year in a way. This was a very good one to start with. And the moral of this story appears to be: I will never tire of Beauty and the Beast retellings. A fact I was not unaware of, but that I am happy to have confirmed once more, this time after reading Brigid Kemmerer 's A Curse So Dark and Lonely . My favorites tend to run the Robin McKinley way, with the most recent favorite retelling being Meagan Spooner's wonderful Hunted . But this is the first retelling of my favorite fairy tale that I've read that includes both traditional fantasy and modern contemporary settings. I didn't think it could work. Or, at least, I was skeptical that the one would interfere with the other or that the different dialogues might clash. How happy I was to find that the whole thing played out seamlessly. How happy I am to have discovered Brigid Kemmerer's w...

Phoenix Unbound —the first book in Grace Draven 's new Fallen Empire series—releases from Ace Trade Paperback on September 25th. In honor of the release, Penguin Random House is celebrating with a giveaway that features not only an ARC of Phoenix Unbound but also a Fantasy Romance Starter Kit made up of other first-in-series romantic fantasy books by Ilona Andrews , Patricia Briggs , Nalini Singh , Anne Bishop , and Chloe Neill . Guys, this includes the first Kate Daniels and Alpha & Omega books. Two of my very favorites. I love the whole idea! Just click here to enter the sweepstakes giveaway. PHOENIX UNBOUND by GRACE DRAVEN Ace Trade Paperback | September 25, 2018 A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from the  USA Today  bestselling author of  Radiance . Every year, each village is required to send a young woman to the Empire's capital--her fa...

I've had a good feeling about Spinning Silver ever since I first heard it would be a thing. That might sound a touch ubiquitous, because basically everyone I know has been on absolute tenterhooks waiting for its release from the moment they finished Uprooted . The thing is, I read Uprooted back when it came out and the hype was huge. And the writing was truly beautiful, beautiful in a timeless way.  Naomi Novik is a consummate world builder and a frightfully skilled storyteller. That combined with her homage to Robin McKinley 's Luthe (and Damar in general ) guaranteed I would be picking up her next volume. But it's worth stating that I was comparatively underwhelmed by the characterization in Uprooted . A persistent, somewhat chilly chasm separated me from them emotionally. And so a measure of apprehension did color my anticipation for her next standalone fairy tale retelling. However . That good feeling I mentioned earlier? It lingered invitingly. Somehow, I just knew...

Happy Monday, gentle readers. Today, I'm pleased to be participating in the official cover reveal for Sara Wolf 's upcoming Bring Me Their Hearts , due out June 5th from Entangled Publishing . I've not read any of Ms. Wolf's books yet, but I'm pretty excited to start with this one. Just excellent title aside, immortal soldier trying to steal a prince's heart to win back her own from the evil witch who stole it and put it in a jar? Sign me up. Also, I want her dress. Without further ado: ABOUT THE BOOK In a new series Publishers Weekly has listed as “one of the most anticipated YA's of 2018”, we're excited to share the cover for Bring Me Their Hearts ! NYT bestselling author Sara Wolf delivers a fast-paced, gritty fantasy sure to thrill fans of Holly Black, Sabba Tahir, and Sarah J. Maas. Zera is a Heartless—the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her fam...

To celebrate yesterday's release of  The Beast of Ten ,  Beth Brower has kindly offered up a paperback copy to one lucky reader. This giveaway is open internationally and will run through Wednesday, January 31st. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter. Good luck, and happy reading! Buy: Print | eBook Shelve:  Add on Goodreads Follow Beth: Facebook | Website | Instagram | Goodreads THE DEATH BLEAK - For centuries he has haunted the nations, taking the blood gain further than any before him THE PYRE - His storied stronghold deep in the Forest of Naeethe, its glory forgotten, its ancient purposes abandoned AND I, EMBER - Sent by the Lights to stop him from becoming the one thing that all nations fear the the most. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Look, I knew this day was coming. I mean, there was a chance that it wouldn't. If I hadn't given in and read Sarah J. Maas ' A Court of Thorns and Roses series, I might never have gone back and given the Throne of Glass series a second chance. Which would have been a dashed shame (more on that later). But reading Feyre's story and loving it in the precise way I did was the nail in the coffin of not returning to Celaena's story as well. Thank you, Reading Gods of Second Chances. I think you're all familiar with my history with this series. In fact, some of you have a similar story. I snagged an ARC of Throne of Glass (one of the ones with the original terrible cover) at BEA way  back in the day and started it almost immediately. I ran out of steam a ways in and gave up for lack of anything holding my interest. And, somehow, my reaction was strong enough to withstand literal  years of ensuing hype and rave reviews from readers and writers I truly esteem. F...

I loved this series so much I'm not sure I've moved past it or that I even will. I should preface this by saying that I picked up Sarah J. Maas ' Throne of Glass what seems like ages ago and was singularly unimpressed. Like massively so. I didn't even finish it, though I feel like I did give it the old college try. I realize its original cover did it a disservice. But at the time, nothing about that first story felt unique. It felt tired, like I'd read it before, and the writing did not stand out to me in any way. Fast forward a few years, and I just kept hearing absolute knockdown raving about Ms. Maas' newer series—A Court of Thorns and Roses. The first book was out in paperback and something about all of your glowing comments (and the beautiful cover) pushed me over the edge. I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first book, which is a lovely mashup of the Beauty and the Beast and Tam Lin fairy tales (I know, it's like it was tailor fit for me). The book b...

It has been far too long since I pulled together a Pretties post. Far too long. I continue to meticulously monitor my ongoing list of upcoming books, never fear. I just haven't been actively talking about them as much lately. But. These three. These three finally all have covers and are out there on the not-too-distant/somewhat distant horizon. Moreover, they absolutely merit some chatter. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli Okay, look. This debut is being touted as "perfect for fans of Robin McKinley, Kristin Cashore, and Sarah J. Maas" . . . soooooo . . . basically . . . I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE. This is also within reach as it is due out in just over a month. I am so very excited. She's a dragon-slayer, guys. My Aerin Dragon-Killer loving heart is beating overtime. Due out October 3rd Circe by Madeline Miller I feel certain you all remember my exquisite meltdown over the beautifulness that is The Song of Achilles . Well, she finally has another book co...

I am feeling many things, guys, after watching this teaser trailer. I am feeling a complicated number of things. So I require your thoughts. Have you watched it? How many times? What are you feeling? The majority of the reactions I'm seeing seem to be overwhelmingly positive. Like, fawningly so. I'm cautiously optimistic. Just blown away by some things (I love Meg, and all three of the Mrs. W's look amazing ) and a bit befuddled by others (is that really supposed to be Calvin?? the "chosen one" dialogue feels laid on a bit thick for me). And so I need your input. Please.

I'm just going to start off by saying I cannot stop thinking about this book. I finished it weeks ago, but this lovely Beauty and the Beast adaptation will not leave my mind. This is the first book I've really read by Meagan Spooner . I gave These Broken Stars a bit of a go awhile back, but we sort of drifted apart halfway through. Not the case here. The gorgeous cover caught my eye and the early glowing reviews reinforced my conviction. Having finished it, I immediately ran out and purchased copies for a number of the relevant readers in my life. And despite having pushed on and read several books since, Hunted is the one I find my mind and heart returning to over and over again. Yeva holds a lot of things in. She loves her family—her father, her sisters—and so she sits obediently in the baronessa's chambers. She pretends to make small talk and embroider bits of cloth with the other ladies. She smiles politely at the young man who is said to be courting her (and does...