And this is a very good thing.
The Book Smugglers, Ana and Thea, run a beautifully organized book review site with frequent, thoughtful posts and lots of giveaways — the kind of site that can garner a hundred or more comments on a single post.
So I’m delighted at their joint review of The City in the Lake, which they timed to post just as the book came out in paperback.
I thought they’d like CITY. And I was right.
Drop by thebooksmugglers.com and read the whole thing, but here are some of the bits I most appreciated:
Thea: “Jaw-droppingly awesome.”
Ana: “I was so not prepared for how awesome this book is.”
And then at the end —
Thea’s concluding comments: I cannot believe I had not heard of this book earlier, and it’s a damn shame how unacknowledged it is. From opening sentence to bittersweet farewell, I loved The City in the Lake and recommend it to readers young and old alike. For fans of Juliet Marillier, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, and Sharon Shinn, looking for that next fix of luscious, romantic, flawless fantasy? Look no further – Rachel Neumeier’s The City in the Lake is for you. Easily, one of the best books I have read in 2011 and in the running for my year end top 10.
Ana’s concluding comments: I can’t believe I never heard about this book before and I wish more people would read it. I don’t think I have read a YA Fantasy as good as this in ages and wouldn’t be surprised if it made my top 10 as well.
So, yes, that was very satisfying. Didn’t even take a bribe. Honest.