Angieville

What a beautiful cover. I remember when I first saw it my initial thought was,  Oh, please don't let it suck . I know that sounds harsh, but sometimes a cover just calls out to you and you know when you finally hold a physical copy of the book itself you'll just want to stroke it and love it and tell it it's found its home on your shelves. Unfortunately, the innards (as my boy is fond of saying) don't always match the outtards. And then I am forced to cry. Because . . . so pretty. So when a review copy of Stacey Jay 's Juliet Immortal came my way, I held my breath. Just a bit. Okay, maybe for the first five pages or so. Thankfully, that's all it took. Because this innovative retelling (of sorts) of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet has teeth. And they sank into me with delicious ferocity. This was my first foray with Stacey Jay , though I know she has a handful of books already out. After this encounter, I look forward to checking out her other work. Juliet...

Such very classical themes and characters we have with these three upcoming releases. From Michelangelo to Shakespeare to Greek mythology, I'm very intrigued to see how these historical young adult novels by veteran authors fare. They're also three new-to-me authors and that always holds a certain mystique and draw for me. David by Mary Hoffman A behind-the-scenes take on the real story of the identity of Michelangelo's model for the famous David statue. I like the simplicity of the cover. This one sounds a bit like a historical mystery and I'm always looking for another good one of those. Plus, I adore all things Michelangelo and haven't read a really good Michelangelo-related novel since The Agony and the Ecstasy .  Due out October 11th. Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay And to continue in our Italian vein, here we have a revisionist retelling of the true story of Shakespeare's doomed lovers. This time with a less sympathetic Romeo, more eternal conseque...