Yesterday I mentioned that two of my favorite books so far are SMART GIRLS GET WHAT THEY WANT by Sarah Strohmeyer and FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund. My reviews of those books will be posted here on their release dates. But as I received SMART GIRLS through the Amazon Vine program, my review is already visible on Amazon. I hope it gets you excited for this release! You can whet your appetite for Peterfreund's latest with the prequel AMONG THE NAMELESS STARS. (Link via Bookshelves of Doom.)
I'm also a fan of recent literary release BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK, which I haven't posted about yet. The author, Ben Fountain, was my creative writing teacher in college. He's a great guy and has a real gift. Today BILLY LYNN is the Nook Daily Find. Amazon has price matched B&N on the Kindle. If you click on the cover you'll be taken to Amazon, where you can buy BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK for $1.99. I highly suggest you do it. This book for two dollars is an absolute steal.
Three I love and have posted about are GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers (review), SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo (review), and JANE EYRE: A COUNTING PRIMER by Jennifer Adams (review). You probably haven't heard of the board book, but the other two can't be a surprise. I'm often wary of hyped books, but this year the big books have been living up to their press. That makes me a very happy bookworm indeed.
I am excited about a number of books at BEA 12, but nervous to list them because I know I'll forget something. There's Mark Helprin's newest, IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW. There's THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray and LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans of Presenting Lenore. There's PRODIGY by Marie Lu. THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas. UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan. I don't know what books I'll find during the next half of 2012. I'm just eager to read and discover whatever comes my way.
I loved Grave Mercy....it had many appealing elements - setting, mystery, feminism, history. And I got Shadow and Bone today. Will get to that as soon as I'm done with Gone Girl which I cannot pu down!
ReplyDeleteLove Libba Bray....eager to read what you think.
PS...I too am a big sucker for all things Russian.
I loved how Grave Mercy made the feminism realistic for the setting. I hope you'll enjoy Shadow and Bone, as a fellow Russia lover.
DeleteI adore the cover to Gone Girl, but it kind of freaks me out. I can't decide whether I want to read it or not.
Who doesn't love Libba Bray? I just hope to get my hands on an ARC. Otherwise I'll have to wait for the paperback.
Oh, we have so many in common! :) Great picks!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Armchair BEA Best of 2012 post and my giveaway post for today!
Very cool that your teacher published a book :) I will check it out!
ReplyDeleteHappy AC BEA!!
He had a book of short stories (BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA) published before he was the author-in-residence at my uni. I hope you enjoy the book!
DeleteThanks for stopping by today & for the suggestion. I didn't know For Darkness Shows.. was inspired by persuasion. That's pretty cool and def makes me want to read it. I'm off to read what Smart Girls Get What They Want is about. Love the title.
ReplyDelete-Melissa @Harley Bear Book Blog
I love making suggestions to people. I think that's the real reason I'm a blogger.
DeleteHaha, I first picked up Smart girls because of the title too. I hope you enjoy it!
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ReplyDeleteLiviania...it depends if you like thrillers. I haven't gotten to the end yet so I don't know how brutal it will be but so far it's a new twist on a cat and mouse marriage. It's the way Gillian Flynn writes - so brilliantly! But the cover is just flying hair!!
ReplyDeletePS - I realize I've been misspelling your name. My apologies.
No worries, it's a made up name and difficult to spell.
DeleteI go through periods of wanting to read thrillers. They're good summer reading! And I know the cover is just hair, but I find disembodied body parts creepy.
Great picks. I haven't read any of them but the last two are on my tbr pile
ReplyDeleteThanks. I hope you enjoy them!
DeleteI am looking forward to For Darkness Shows the Stars, since I have read comparisons to Persuasion by Jane Austen, which is my favorite Austen novel. Grave Mercy is waiting for me and Shadow and Bone will soon be joining it.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for Prodigy to come out. I just loved the world she created in Legend.
Looks like we have similar taste!
DeleteCan't wait to read Shadow and Bone!!! And Smart girls get waht they want!! :) :) Awesome post! ;) Enjoy aBEA! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteGreat choices and the Jane Austen counting primer is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Book'd Out earlier
Happy Armchair BEA!
Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
I love the primer and even better my niece and nephew love it.
DeleteAre you kidding me ... BILLY LYNN'S is $1.99??! I've been seeing that everywhere. Thanks for the tip - just bought it now for my Kindle!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed! I'm glad my tip helped.
DeleteI have heard of the Jane Eyre counting book. I'm a fan of all things Jane Eyre. I should get it for myself, though I don't need to learn to count. ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe one day you'll run into someone who needs the help. And it is adorable on its own.
DeleteI'm seeing a lot about Shadow and Bone....adding that one to the TBR list I think!
ReplyDeleteAlso seeing Smart Girls Get What They Want a lot the past day or two, so going to check that one out too.
They're both good picks to add to your pile!
DeleteI haven't read any of your picks, but I really want to read For Darkness Shows the Stars, Shadow and Bone, and Grave Mercy.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! Here's my Best of 2012!
I hope you can get your hands on them. All three are definitely worth reading.
DeleteGrave Mercy & Shadow and Bone were awesome reads! I haven't been able to get to writing my review yet for S&B, but did get Monument 14 review done for today, which was another great Fierce Read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of Monument 14. I'll have to look it up!
DeleteBilly Lynn's Long Half Time Walk sounds great. Sadly, I have neither Nook nor Kindle, but I'm sure I'll get my hands on a copy eventually, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to In Sunlight and In Shadow, too!
You don't need a Nook or Kindle. Just download the free program from Amazon or B&N and read it on your computer. (And Kindle books can now be read over the net.)
DeleteGrave Mercy deserves its raves. A very good book, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI am very curious about For Darkness Shows the Stars.Oh goodness,I jut read that it is inspired by Persuassion. I just read that book this year - loved it - and have already read a retelling of the story. Now, I want to read Darkness....this must be the year for Persuassion for me,
The year of Persuasion sounds like a good year indeed.
DeleteGrave Mercy looks fantastic. I can't wait to read it and also Shadow and Bone.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them once you do!
DeleteI haven't read any of these yet! A few are on my list though! I am reading For Darkness Shows the Stars next! :)
ReplyDelete