On the Same Page | Landline | Rainbow Rowell

on the same page

Landline • Rainbow Rowell

We were all so stoked to read LANDLINE, friends, that we bumped it up in our monthly schedule when all three of us managed to snag advanced copies. Because RAINBOW. And because reading any of her books, whether they are geared towards young adults or full grown-ups, always have an impact on all three of us.

Book cover Landline Rainbow RowellLANDLINE is about a relationship that is struggling. Rainbow tells amazing stories about relationships, and the one between Georgie McCool (I KNOWWW) and her husband, Neal, is fraying. Georgie writes for a TV comedy and Neal is a stay-at-home dad to their two girls. When Georgie and her long-time friend and writing partner get news of a potential big break right before Christmas, Georgie and Neal’s relationship goes from “just ok” to “MAYDAY! MAYDAY!” Neal heads off with the girls to Nebraska as the family planned, and Georgie stays behind in LA to work on her TV show. Except when she starts spending time in her old bedroom at her mom’s house, she finds an old rotary phone in her closet and uses it to call Neal’s parents’ house to talk to her husband. And THAT’S when things get INTERESTING.

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Series Love | Marked Men | Jay Crownover

Marked Men Jay Crownover

New feature time!! WAHOO! I hope that you guys will enjoy it as much as I will (do)!

So basically, I am an unapologetic lover of series books. I know that standalones are becoming increasingly sought after for their inherent singularness, and I love those books too. Lots and lots and lots. But when I hear about a new series starting, or find out how many books a beloved series will be, and I get this comforting feeling of hunkering down and getting ready to dive in and get utterly lost. I crave it, that feeling of prolonged escape.

In an effort to share some of my love for series books–especially ones that I haven’t had a chance to review on the blog–I’m starting Series Love. It’s basically going to be my way of highlighting the books that are out, what ones are to come (if any), what they’re about generally, and why I love them so much. YAY!

For my inaugural Series Love post, I’m shouting out a new obsession of mine: the Marked Men series by Jay Crownover. Tattoos! Seksi times! Intense feelings! Three cheers!

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Five-Star Friday: The Penderwicks

Five-Star Friday is a periodically regular (say what?!) feature that I’m planning on running on Fridays (but not every Friday) in which I talk about (or verbally drool over) a book that I’ve read and ADORED (sometimes they’ll be recent releases and other times they might be older…my piles are tall and the bottoms are old). Yay! I always feel so happy and light and wonderful when I am beside myself with delight over a book, and I want to share the love with you all in the hopes that we can all get together and have an embarrassing, squeal-filled love-fest full of lots of high-pitched “Ohmygod, I KNOW!s” and chest-clutching sighs of contentedness. Huzzah!*

Well, HELLO THERE, Five-Star Friday! Been a while, friend! Hopefully I’ll be able to make up for my long absence by talking up one of my very favorite middle grades, THE PENDERWICKS: A SUMMER TALE OF FOUR SISTERS, TWO RABBITS, AND A VERY INTERESTING BOY. Sigh. I love me some Penderwicks, guys. 

Book cover for The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall [Read more…]

Book Review | The Humming Room | Ellen Potter

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Humming Room | Ellen PotterThe Humming Room by Ellen Potter
Published by Feiwel & Friends on February 28, 2012
Genres: Middle Grade, Mysteries & Detective Stories
Pages: 192
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads
four-stars

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw’s special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment’s notice. When her parents are murdered, it’s her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn’t believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle’s assistants, Roo discovers the house’s hidden room–a garden with a tragic secret.

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