Angieville

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...

Rowena over at The Book Binge had a charming post up on her first kiss and what it was like and how she remembers it like it was yesterday. She goes on to talk about her favorite between-the-pages first kisses and why she loves them. I thought it was a lovely post and it made me realize that, though I'm rather a big fan of a good first kiss on the page, I haven't really spent much time thinking about which ones are my favorites. Now that I have, I have to laugh at what seems to be a trend. I am apparently particularly fond of a first kiss that takes one (or both) people by surprise. Lol. I honestly had no idea I felt that way, but the evidence appears to be incontrovertible. I've removed the names to protect the innocent and prevent spoilers but there is really no way to talk about these kisses (even as briefly as I do) without risking some SPOILERS. So if you see a title you're planning on reading and don't want to know anything, please skip these short descripti...