Angieville

I woke up this morning a bit flummoxed to realize that today marks my blog's ten year anniversary. How . . . how did that happen? The lovely thing is that the bemusement was almost immediately followed by a palpable thrill of wonder at the fact that I've been doing this thing—this thing that I have come to love, that has become an integral, limb-like part of me—for a decade. There are only a few other things I've been doing that long. I've been married to my husband for just a few years longer than that. I've been a mother for almost exactly two years more. In fact, ten years ago on this night I put my little boy (only had one then) down to bed after a satisfactory night of trick-or-treating, climbed into bed with my notebook, and Aaron sat down and started telling me about how he thought I should start a blog, how it would be a good place to . . . oh, you guys. Talking about this brings the emotions precariously close to the surface. He told me he thought it...

Something new from Sarra Manning is on the horizon! After the Last Dance is set in two time periods and places and follows Rose in 1943 London and Jane in present day Las Vegas. I really require no more in the way of persuasion, but if you do you can read the rest of the synopsis here . I'm used to straight contemporaries from Ms. Manning, so I'm quite eager to see what this change of scenery has in store. Due out in the UK on December 3rd (and who knows when in the US), I'm thinking I'll be making a little order from The Book Depository right about then . . .

I just have to publicly note that last night I handed my boy Alanna: the First Adventure . That's right. The time is finally here. This morning, the first words out of his mouth were, "Mom, I read the first chapter last night and it is soooooo good. I'm taking it to school with me!" And off he went. Carting my original battered 90s copy with him. Nothing can wipe the smile off my face today. Not a damn thing.

Three new-to-me authors, three eye-catching pretties, three upcoming contemporaries full of potential. Looks like these three run the gamut from a used bookstore to a London television set to a 90s rock band. I will have no problem making those stops. As always, fingers crossed. This Book Will Change Your Life by Amanda Weaver I feel like the font choice could have been more inspired here, but I will never not pick up a book with a couple kissing in a library. Never . And so. We have Hannah who is struggling with her college choices. And we have Ben who works in a used bookstore and is feeling trapped within familial expectations. I approve of this message. Due out September 28th Undeniable by Liz Bankes I believe this one was published previously in the UK, but with a far inferior (or at least less cute) cover. I'm fond of this black and white and pink cover with the ascending hearts. Undeniable is being recced for fans of Stephanie Perkins and features a girl named Ga...

Welcome to Day #10 of The Boy Most Likely To(ur)! To celebrate the release of The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick (8/18/15), 10 blogs across the web will be featuring exclusive content from Huntley, as well as a chance to win a YA Goodie Basket in the  Grand Prize Giveaway ! Today, Huntley shares her experiences as a romance editor! My Day as a Romance Editor “Huntley spent her college years majoring in Shakespeare and completing a minor in daydreaming, following which she spent time working as a waitress, a caterer, a publicist's minion, a bartender, an account firm assistant, romance novel editor, and co-owner of a café.” That’s My Working Life in my official bio—the quick non-resume sum-up of what I did before I could write “Author” under “occupation”.  I left a few jobs out, because they were too painful to recall—like the single day I spent wearing a sandwich board to advertise a local dry-cleaner—the dog-chef job advertised as “must work well w...

One of the most pleasurable reviews I've written this year was the one I wrote in January for  Every Breath —the first book in Ellie Marney 's spectacularly good teen Sherlock Holmes series. I enjoyed the book so much and was so blasted eager to spread the word. Now I'm even more over the moon to tell you I've read Every Word , and it is every bit as good as the first. In fact, it's better . Everything that was good in Every Breath is essentially ratcheted up in this sophomore entry, and there isn't one misstep along the way. I was on the edge of my seat for every page. I was that worried about my beloved Watts and Mycroft. And with excellent reason. Ms. Marney spends zero time beating about the bush and jumps right into pulse-pounding action and gut-wrenching emotion. Which, as you know, basically means I was in heaven from start to finish. It's not that Rachel Watts would have preferred to have been able to say goodbye to her sometime partner/accompli...

So The Boy Most Likely To put me right back in the mood for some solid contemporary YA. I immediately turned to my ARC of Nicola Yoon 's debut novel  Everything, Everything .  I'd been looking forward to this one for awhile but holding onto it until starting it felt right. I can't be the only one who does that, can I? Ours is not to question why and all that, I suppose, but seriously why sometimes can I not just dive right into a book I've been dying for the moment it finds its way into my grabby little hands? Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it. In any event. I'd also been meaning to feature this cover on a pretties post for awhile and just never got around to it. But can we go ahead and just take a moment now? Because it's just perfect, even more so after having read the book. I can't wait to pick up my copy in person and just . . . stroke it. Madeline Whittier has no memory of ever being outside of her house. Afflicted with a genetic disor...