Angieville

I'm amazed that it's actually that time again. The last day of the year. I have my annual list of favorite books of the year. Twenty-three this year, guys. Three more than last year, a couple less than the year before. We seem to be holding steady right around 20 stellar reads a year, which thing maketh me exceedingly happy. (in the order in which I read them) True Pretenses by Rose Lerner Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer Every Breath by Ellie Marney I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios Trade Me by Courtney Milan Falling from the Sky by Sarina Bowen Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon Every Word by Ellie Marney Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen Party Lines by Emma Barry Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh Captive by Brighton Walsh Focus on Me by Megan Erickson The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn ...

Each year, my dear friend Beth and I get together a few days before Christmas to eat popcorn and pomegranates, drink cider and hot chocolate, talk in general and specific terms about the year that's past, and exchange gifts of the bookish variety. It's one of the loveliest nights of the year. But this year, Beth outdid herself in the gift department. Not only is she a talented writer, but she is something of a consummate artist. What this means is that she is the opposite of myself and can essentially turn her hand to any medium and produce something lovely.  Artistic ability is not the only way in which we differ. She comes from a family of eleven children, while I am an only. We've enjoyed many a conversation dissecting the ways in which our family life and upbringing contributed to shaping us into who we are and how we look at the world. This year, she prefaced my gift by saying that she has always felt that books came into my life like siblings. So that we could g...

Remember how roundabout this time last year, Aaron gave me the best early Christmas present ever ? Well, the book closet is all decked out for the holidays this year and it's making my stressed out/overworked/longing-for-Christmas-magic heart lift each time I walk down the hallway. And now that it's a mere week until Christmas, I've been spending the most enjoyable and large part of the time that I wasn't stressing out/overworking/longing handing out book recommendations right and left to loved ones far and near. I absolutely adore it when the emails/texts/calls begin pouring in and I get to happily sift through everything I've read over the last year to find the perfect ones for the people on their lists. No joke, I have said the words, " Six of Crows " no less than 12 times in the last 24 hour period alone. A Desperate Fortune has been not far behind it. In other words, these are the droids books you're looking for. I'm certainly passing ...

I discovered Susanna Kearsley 's books a few years ago through the utterly wonderful  The Winter Sea . It was love from start to finish with that book, and I eagerly checked out a few more of her backlist. I never fell quite as hard with the others as I did with The Winter Sea though, and so when I heard about A Desperate Fortune it didn't automatically zip to the top of my TBR. But then my friend Beth read and loved it and did that thing where she smiles enigmatically and says, "You'll have to tell me when you've read it." Implying that I will. And that it will likely go well. I trust her implicitly. But I am a bit of an uncooperative reading soul these days, and so I knew I would come to it when I came to it. Attempting to force things lately tends to backfire spectacularly. Then the other night I crawled into bed and cast about. As one does. I figured I'd give it a shot. Just the first few pages. Just to see . . . Sara Thomas has learned how to man...

News Flash:  Announcing a sublime – and scandalously wonderful – new series from New York Times, USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Sarah MacLean! “ The Rogue Not Taken  by Sarah MacLean is my favorite book of hers to date. If you’ve read her, or know me, then you know that I just said a thing.”  —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Lady Sophie’s Society Splash When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn’t saving her from ruin . . . it’s filled with it. Rogue’s Reign of Ravishment! Kingscote, “King,” the Marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn’t charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he’s more...

Today, I'm extra chuffed to be taking part in Tundra Books' Every Word Blog Tour ! There are five stops each day, so be sure to check out all the fun. As you know, I've been quite taken with this contemporary teen Sherlock Holmes bit of bibliocrack for some time now. You can read my reviews of the first book here and my review of Every Word here . And, as this brilliant second volume has just recently come out here in the states, what better way to celebrate than with a giveaway?  James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents seven years ago...without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his 'partner in crime'. Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behaviour - not that Mycroft's ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him...and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble. The theft of a copy of Shakespeare's...

So, cards on the table? This is my favorite cover of the year. Actually, my favorite book design of the year full stop. The pages are all edged black, which is just exquisitely pleasing on a level I would never have expected, particularly set as they are against the blood red endpapers. I cannot stop touching them, even now that I'm done. The feathers and towers motif repeats itself throughout on each of the chapter title pages, and it is just a visceral pleasure every time. If you haven't picked up a copy in person, do yourself a favor and drop in at your favorite bookstore whether you plan on buying a copy or not, just for the treat of paging through this gorgeous book. That said, I feel it's important to point out that I was not a fan of Ms. Bardugo's Grisha trilogy. I crapped out partway through the first book, as the characters were just persistently doing nothing for me. But when I heard Leigh Bardugo would be appearing at my local indie bookstore as part of th...