Comments on: Best Anthology Ever?

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:35:54 +0000

Yeah! Ilona and Charlaine! Never heard of the other two in the anthoology but if they’re being grouped with Charlaine and Ilona they have to be good. I can’t believe some people have never heard of Charlaine though, especially with TrueBlood starting last week on HBO (Soooooo Good!) I love Ilona’s work especially as she an her husband went to school out where I grew up. And nothing happens in Western NC.

I’d love to see an anthology with Ilona, Charlaine, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Kim Harrison, Larissa Ione, and Christine Warren.

By: Kelsey

Kelsey — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:28:26 +0000

This anthology is going to make people stare at me when I do a happy dance in the middle of the store when I buy it. :)

Another awesome lineup would be Angela Knight, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and Yasmine Galenorn.

By: Escapist Newsletter: (Vol. 2 Issue 1) | Literary Escapism

Escapist Newsletter: (Vol. 2 Issue 1) | Literary Escapism — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:19:45 +0000

[...] I get to read stories by authors I love as well as find some new talent. A new one was just announced for release summer 2009. It is going to include Ilona Andrews, Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, and [...]

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:25:47 +0000

Mine would have to be:
Jim Butcher (can’t live without Harry- I about had a heart attack when I found out he was releasing the first few chapters of the new Harry book online squee!!)
Patricia Briggs (so happy I came across her)
Tanya Huff ( I need my Henry fix)
Charlaine Harris (of course)
Colleen Gleason
That’s my Dream Team!

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:44:39 +0000

Okay, I will put reviewing A Countess Below Stairs on my ever-growing list of things to do.

By: azteclady

azteclady — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:40:48 +0000

Janine said,

it would probably be a good idea to spread the Ibbotson love around more.

I need more books to read like I need a hole in the head, but still *begging eyes* Pretty please?

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:35:51 +0000

The American title is A Countess Below Stairs. It's the story of a Russian countess who escapes the Russian Revolution to come to England, where she becomes a maid. Of course, she falls in love with an English earl. Maybe I should reread and review the book sometime. Jayne, Jan and I are all Ibbotson fans and it would probably be a good idea to spread the Ibbotson love around more. Edited to add: Meriam, if you are interested in Austria then Magic Flutes, Madensky Square, and The Morning Gift are probably the Ibbotson books for you. Madensky Square is not exactly a romance but it is a lovely book. Ibbotson also has a romance set in Manaus, Brazil called A Company of Swans.

By: vanessa jaye

vanessa jaye — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:16:35 +0000

The Secret Countess sounds good to me too, Janine! The other two you mentioned might be at the library, I’ll have to check.

By: Meriam

Meriam — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:28:25 +0000

Janine, thanks for that. I’ll add The Secret Countess to my February book binge on Amazon. I went onto Wikipedia earlier and noticed she loved to set her books in Austria, which is cool because when I was younger, I used to read a boarding school series (The Chalet School) set in the alps. I wanted more than anything in the world to live there.

By: Janine

Janine — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:41:35 +0000

Vanessa, you can't be first in line because that's my spot! And no one is taking it away from me! And Meriam, you'll just have to be third in line. :) Meriam, yes, Ibbotson writes children's books now but she used to write historical romances, and what fabulous books they were. Like the other three authors I listed, Ibbotson really has a way with words. Here's a sample two paragraphs from A Countess Below Stairs: The day was hot and the suitcase heavy, containing as it did not only Anna's meagre stock of clothing, but all two thousand and three pages of Selina Stickland's Domestic Compendium. What the Torah was to the dispersed and homesick Jews and the Koran to the followers of Mahommet, Mrs. Strickland's three-volume tome, which clocked in at three and a half kilos, was to Anna, setting off on her new career in service. '"Blacking for grates may be prepared by mixing asphaltum with linseed oil and turpentine," she quoted now, and looked with pleasure at the rolling parkland, the freshly-sheared sheep cropping the grass, the ancient oaks making pools of foliage in the rich meadows. Even the slight air of neglect, the Queen Anne's lace frothing the once-trim verges, the ivy tumbling from the gate-house wall, only made the environs of Mersham more beautiful. Recently some of Ibbotson's romances have been reprinted as YA books, but they were actually written for adults. Two of my favorites, Madensky Square and Magic Flutes, are not among the reprints, unfortunately, but A Countess Below Stairs (also published as The Secret Countess in Britain, I believe) is back in print and really worth purchasing.