Angieville

Today, I'm excited to be participating in the blog tour for Sherry Thomas ' brand new Victorian mystery A Study in Scarlet Women . As you can likely tell from the title, this is the first installment in Thomas' Lady Sherlock series—a gender-swapped retelling of Sherlock Holmes. So basically, my catnip. We are living in an excellent age when it comes to Holmes retellings. From Laurie King's Mary Russell books to Ellie Marney's Every series  to the BBC's Sherlock , it's a feast of delights. And since I have been a Sherry Thomas fan for awhile now, I could hardly contain my excitement when I heard she was working on a female Holmes. The glowing cover blurb from Deanna Raybourn certainly didn't hurt.  Charlotte Holmes has taken the mother of all calculated risks and successfully gotten herself thrown out. It all started . . . well, ages ago, really. The youngest of four daughters, with parents who seem to hold nothing but disdain for one another, Charlo...

I'm feeling very possessive when it comes to this one, guys. I finished it a few days ago, and it has been a bit touch and go emotionally since then. You try to find other characters and other places to fill the void, but the truth is—it's not your first rodeo. A nd you know very well you're not going to simply be able to will the ability to move forward with your life. That you're just going to have to wait it out and mourn having been with Quincy and Arch, er, those characters,  as steadily and for as long as you were and then learn to live on a day-to-day basis not being with them. And, yes, I do know they're sitting right there on the shelf whenever I need them. But you know what I mean. You have to somehow get past the end having happened to you, too. And not just to them. The Q   is a lovely little (actually gratifyingly thick) standalone historical fiction (with a twist) novel and instant entry on my Best Books of 2016 list. Oh, and lest I forget,  t...

I'm sure by now you've heard the amazing news that we have not only a release date, but a title and cover as well for the incomparable Megan Whalen Turner 's fifth Queen's Thief book— Thick as Thieves . It's due out in hardcover May 16th of next year. So definitely what feels like a ways off yet, but it's been six years , people. This is huge progress from where we fans have been. And, if you trot on over to the description on Goodreads, you'll note that our new POV character is none other than Kamet (!), which thing filleth me with joy. I can say that having worked through my initial emotions at coming to The King of Attolia and finding out the narrator was some unknown by the name of Costis and, of course, subsequently recognizing the error of my ways. Costis, I love you! Kamet, I am  one hundred percent ready for your adventure! So. As for my feelings. We're back to a version of the word thief in the title, and I really love that. And they...

Today's pretties post comes to you courtesy of three foreign editions I've been lusting over. But seriously, why can these not be available in my country. Or, you know, my language? And, yes, I'm aware of what a first world problem I'm dealing with here. Not enough pretty editions at your beck and call, Ms. Thompson? I do know. But the book collector in me just started vibrating with longing when I ran across these lovely editions. You've all seen my battered and beloved copy of Daughter of the Forest . I feel like you feel me when I see this completely different and beautiful monochromatic UK version and know that it has to be mine. I always need a lender copy! Particularly as my original hardback is no longer capable of limping out the door, what with the loose pages and the limp tape some obliging borrower stuck in for good measure. As for the Italian edition of Cath Crowley 's Graffiti Moon , all I can say is this is the cover I'd been waiting for...

I somehow neglected to write a review of Illuminae when I read it last year. It may have had something to do with my response to the novel, which was complex. I was completely riveted to the page throughout. In fact, I swallowed it in a single night. However, I wasn't sure if it would prove to be a re-read for me, primarily because I felt a distance between myself and the characters. The separation enforced by the epistolary format, on top of the protagonists' themselves separation for the majority of the novel combined to make me feel a bit wistful. I suppose I just wished I felt a level of closeness to them that matched the level of commitment I felt to the unfolding story. Which was to say complete and utter . There was, interestingly, no question of whether or not I would be picking up the sequel. Also somewhat interesting was how I felt nothing but excitement that the sequel would follow a new couple. And so it was that Gemina fell into my lap and swallowed me whole. ...

So the truth is I had a feeling about A Promise of Fire from the moment I clapped eyes on it. And the funny thing is, I was drawn to the girl on the cover because she reminded me immediately of Kate Daniels—only one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines of all time . Little did I know, so much more than just the cover of this book would go on to remind me of the fabulous Ilona Andrews series. Though the Kingmaker Chronicles are epic fantasy romance with a Greek mythology bent, they share that certain brand of high octane banter and impossibly high stakes that make the Kate Daniels books so fabulous. This is the first volume (as well as Amanda Bouchet 's debut novel), and I find myself so looking forward to getting my hands on the next one. Catalia Fisa has hidden herself as well as she knows how. Having successfully attached herself to a troupe of traveling circus performers, she cautiously employs a mere fraction of her actual ability to tell fortunes (and keep an eye out f...

Let's just start by acknowledging that I am woefully behind on reviewing the Sarah MacLean books I have read and loved, which is to say all of them . The thing is, I am simply not overstating things when I say that reading Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake changed my life. And it is a truth universally acknowledged that both A Rogue by Any Other Name and One Girl Earl Deserves a Lover hold pivotal places of honor on my Beloved Bookshelf. As such, I'm beginning to think that her books are so important to me that when it comes to articulating precisely why , I can run into a bit of a struggle. But. I am going to attempt to begin to rectify the situation by reviewing her latest novel and the second installment in the wonderful Scandal & Scoundrel series. I reread the first book in the series in preparation for the sequel, and I am happy to report it was just as delightful the second time around. Lillian Hargrove's world has just been shattered, and by the o...