Woman Crush Wednesday: Emma Woodhouse

April 8, 2015 by Erin

Featured In: Emma by Jane Austen (1815) – plus a whole bunch of subsequent film adaptations, sequels and retellings. Check out the latest Emma-inspired book, the delightful Emma: A Modern Retelling, by Alexander McCall Smith. About Her: Emma Woodhouse is the eponymous main character in Jane Austen’s fourth published novel. The book is quick to lay out Emma’s situation and character in its first pages: “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite […]

Categories: Ladies • Tags: Clueless, emma woodhouse, Jane Austen, paul rudd, woman crush wednesday

Woman Crush Wednesday: Melina Marchetta

March 25, 2015 by Erin

Popular Works: Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, Jellicoe Road (published as On the Jellicoe Road in Australia), The Lumatere Chronicles About Her: Melina Marchetta is an Australian young adult author and former English and History teacher. Her first two novels were awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year, and in 2009 she received the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz award for Jellicoe Road. Her first fantasy novel, Finnikin of the Rock, received Australia’s Aurealis Fantasy Award […]

Categories: Ladies • Tags: jellicoe road, melina marchetta, wcw, wcwliterature, woman crush wednesday, young adult literature

The Werewolf Couple That Fights Evil Together Stays Together – Dead Heat Review

March 9, 2015 by Erin

Title: Dead Heat (Alpha and Omega #4) Author: Patricia Briggs Genre: Urban fantasy Published: March 3, 2015 Rating: ★★★★★ In this fourth book in the Alpha and Omega series, main characters Charles and Anna, the most lovably badass werewolf couple in print, are once again entangled in a creepy supernatural mystery. And once again they are forced to confront their respective emotional hangups in the midst of this supernatural mayhem. And once again I am reminded that Patricia Briggs is one of my favorite urban fantasy […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: book reviews, five star review, patricia briggs, romance, urban fantasy, werewolves

Quick & Dirty Romance Reviews – February 2015

February 22, 2015 by Erin

How to Kiss a Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy Series: Cowboys of Decker Ranch #2 (can be read alone) Published: February 3, 2015 Genre: Contemporary romance The couple: They’ve known each other since they were teenagers, but no-nonsense world champion barrel rider Suze Carlyle and ladies’ man bronco rider Brady Caine never thought they’d make a good match. They were wrong, of course. When they’re forced to spend time together they realize years of insecurity and miscommunication had screwed them over real good. Purple prose: Nope. Joanne […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: billionaire jerks, cowboys, joanne kennedy, kresley cole, romance novels, samantha young

More Swans, Less Woodcutters, Please – Dearest Review

February 18, 2015 by Erin

Title: Dearest (Woodcutter Sisters #3) Author: Alethea Kontis Genre: Young Adult (maybe middle grade) fantasy/fairy tale Published: February 3, 2015 Rating: ★★★☆☆ In the third book of the Woodcutter Sisters series, magically gifted young seamstress Friday Woodcutter is caught in the middle of a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans.” This is labeled a companion book to the series, and should stand alone, but it is best if you read Enchanted and Hero first. After a series of […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: alethea kontis, book review, dearest, fairy tales, swans, three star review, YA, young adult literature

Quick & Dirty Romance Reviews – January 2015

January 30, 2015 by Erin

Introducing Quick & Dirty Romance Reviews, in which Erin rates a few of this month’s steamiest novels to determine what was deliciously swoony or just plain silly.  Last Call by Alice Clayton Series: Cocktails #4 (can be read alone, but more enjoyable if you at least first read #1, Wallbanger) Published: January 6, 2015 Genre: Contemporary romance The couple: This is the final novella in a series, and main characters Caroline (hot interior designer) and Simon (hot photographer) already met-cute […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: alice clayton, laura lee guhrke, lovey dovey, romance novels, sabrina jeffries

Three Amazing Things: Love, Friendship, Cats

January 14, 2015 by Erin

Title: Three Amazing Things About You Author: Jill Mansell (To be) published: January 15, 2015 Genre: Contemporary fiction, chick lit Rating: ★★★★☆ It’s not difficult to imagine where this novel is headed right from the start – the first few pages, labeled as happening “now,” briefly describe Hallie, a young woman with cystic fibrosis, as she prepares for an imminent lung transplant that will change her life. Immediately flash back to “before,” and the narrative alternates between Hallie’s pre-transplant story […]

Categories: Book Review • Tags: chick lit, contemporary fiction, four star review, jill mansell

Erin’s Christmas Wish List – Top 5 Books I need from 2014

December 15, 2014 by Erin

Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery Never mind that I already own three copies of Anne of Green Gables! It’s one of my favorite books ever, and this new edition with gorgeous cover art by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. would make a worthy addition to my collection. The other three titles in the “Puffin in Bloom” children’s classics series are also lovely. The Oldest Living Things in the World, Rachel Sussman Stunning photography of various trees and lichen […]

Categories: Best Of • Tags: anne of green gables, christmas, gregory maguire, margaret atwood, mary poppins, rachel sussman, top 5

Team Buttercup: The Great Cats of YA Fiction

November 22, 2014 by Erin

In honor of Buttercup Everdeen, that magnificent cat who had the balls to hiss at Katniss and the resilience to survive the District 12 firebombing – but, in true cat fashion, still can’t resist a good game of flashlight chase – I have here a list of my favorite kitty companions in young adult and children’s literature. These cats prove that the best sidekick to accompany a young character on his or her fictional journey is graceful, intelligent, tough, irritable, […]

Categories: Best Of • Tags: buttercup, crazy cat lady, Mockingjay, The Hunger Games, YA