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! Sometimes you come full circle with a certain author. My very first Lisa Kleypas novel was actually Sugar Daddy , the first book in the Travis Family trilogy. And I enjoyed it for the most part. But I started to grow fatigued near the end with all of the Texas good ole boy charm, enough that I figured I'd part ways with Kleypas at that point and call it good. Then, awhile later, I won a copy of the introductory novella to her magical realism  Friday Harbor series and decided why not give something more recent a try? I devoured it in a single evening and continued on with that series, with varying results. The saga continued when I caved to massive praise and gave one of her historicals a shot (the woman can

I love the complimentary and contrasting elements between these two. In fact, I love pretty much everything about both of these covers, from the way the spiral staircase entwines with the scarlet folds of the rose on the one to the colorful spine of a vintage airmail envelope on the other. They make me happy. And very curious. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Okay, so this one had me at Beauty & the Beast retelling meets Greek mythology. Yespleasethankyou. Raised to kill her betrothed, Nyx vows to break the curse he laid on her people. Of course, appearances can be deceiving, and . . . well . . . the whole thing looks terribly awesome. Due out January 28th That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay This one is being compared to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , a book I loved so much I still think about it on a regular basis. Two strangers bond through a shared correspondence and a love of food. They eventually plan to meet up in Paris, but will it happen? A

I fell in love with the title of Lian Dolan 's sophomore novel the moment I read it in the email pitch. Then I read on to find out there was Shakespeare. It was a done deal at that point. Honestly, all you have to do is dangle a little Shakespeare in front of me and I am on board. This was my first encounter with Ms. Dolan's work. I had never heard of either of her novels before, and I have to say that ratcheted up my anticipation a bit. It's summer. And I am in the mood to be entertained. By all means, bring on the new-to-me contemporary fiction with a side of Shakespeare and a touch of romance on the side! As far as covers go, I really like these sort of retro chick lit covers both Elizabeth the First Wife and Helen of Pasadena have going on. The're attractive and light, perfect to slip in your bag and pull out as needed on a sunny summer afternoon. Elizabeth Lancaster has made her peace with her past. What's done is done. She divorced her movie star husband

"The time has come," the Walrus said. I am now three (or four, depending on how you slice it) books in and can categorically classify this series as bibliocrack of the highest order. A classification I hope will excuse my reviewing this third installment a touch early. My intentions are pure, I assure you. I just want to make absolutely sure you all know going in that the quality--it remains high . Yes, it does. And so while The Chocolate Touch sadly does not have an adorable silhouette cover in the vein of the first two books in the series, it makes up for it by featuring quite possibly the most overbearing of all overbearing French chocolatiers in Laura Florand 's arsenal. Those of you who've read the first two books know what a statement that is. After essentially melting down over the gooey goodness that was The Chocolate Kiss , I narrowly resisted the urge to ransack the state for a good macaron and settled for raising my fangirl flag high and awaiting the nex

I have to laugh when I realize I've only actually reviewed one book by an author I glommed onto quite awhile back. Jill Shalvis first came to my attention through her well-known (and loved) Lucky Harbor series. I really enjoyed the first book, Simply Irresistible , and proceeded to blow my way through the rest of the series. I originally thought it would be just a trilogy, but it has turned into quite the expansive series. Interestingly, the series as a whole is informally broken up into sets of three mini-trilogies if you will, within the larger whole. It Had to Be You is the first book in the third trilogy. I find readers tend to fall all over the map when it comes to their favorite Lucky Harbor installments, a fact which delights me. When recommending them to new readers, I usually tell them to start with Simply Irresistible, but that it's anyone's guess which ones will wind up being  theirs . As for me, the first book in each trilogy sits on my keeper shelf. Maddie

I'm excited today to be giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky reader!   This giveaway is sponsored by   Appliances Online   and is open to the US and the UK.  To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter letting me know what you'd spend your gift card on--books like me (which ones, which ones) or something else you've had your eye on?  The giveaway will run one week from today (6/13). Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mildly NSFW, but sooooo funny. Live long and prosper.

I do not know how Cassie Alexander manages to serve up two installments in her wonderful Edie Spence series each year, but I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Please to be continuing in this vein, Ms. Alexander! Because this series just gets better and better. And finishing Shapeshifted knowing I still have Deadshifted to look forward to at the end of this year just fills me with both gratitude and excitement. I worry about my favorite urban fantasy heroines. I worry. I am frequently forced to be away from them at times when I would really rather not leave. And when it comes to Edie, that was getting to be pretty much all the time. Her life was fairly decently fractured at the end of   the last book. I wasn't sure how she would cope with the enforced changes, and I wondered how long she would spend on the outside once things started up again in the new book. The questions that occupy my mind, you guys. You wouldn't know it to look at me, but it's a cacophon