Angela Mann was raised and educated in England, worked in publishing companies on both sides of the Atlantic, and is now the youth events director for Kepler’s Literary Foundation. She reads voraciously and eclectically, usually falling for whatever calls loudest from her bookshelf despite all other obligations, searching for things either funny, offbeat, apocalyptic, provocative, beautiful, or true.
Set in a boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft, this dark, creepy, and twisty gothic thriller kept me guessing all the way through as Felicity and Ellis delve into the school’s past. A disquieting look at female friendship, ambition, and love with an unreliable narrator, witches and ghosts, secrets and twists. I was held spellbound until the last page. --Angela
Part techno thriller, part treasure hunt, this is Ready Player One meets Inception. K hears the oblique invitation to start playing the underground game called Rabbits and it’s a wild ride, full of conspiracies and cults, danger, and missing people. Is the fate of the world at stake or is this just a game? --Angela
I loved this fierce epic Indian fantasy full of strong women and political intrigue. We meet Princess Malini when she refuses to sacrifice herself for her brother’s political gain and ends up imprisoned and alone until she meets Priya, a maidservant with secrets of her own. With a complex magic system and rich worldbuilding, this radiates with intensity and ruthlessness. I could not put this down. --Angela
Meet Daunis Fontaine, a biracial, 18-year-old unenrolled tribal member who never quite fits in with her reservation nor the outside world. After witnessing her best friend’s murder she’s pulled into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug, going undercover and using her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine. Part thriller, part coming of age story, Firekeeper’s Daughter is an exceptionally powerful read that I can’t recommend highly enough --Angela
What would you do if you found out that your husband had used your own research to clone a less threatening copy of yourself and was having an affair with her? And would you help her if she turned to you in a time of need? This is so twisty and unsettling you really just have to go along with this unexpected roller coaster of a story that is part thriller, part sci fi, part discussion of cloning ethics, and utterly original – a book I’m still thinking about. --Angela
What if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy? This African inspired fantasy tells the story of a group of children in Aritsar who are raised with the future emperor and will someday rule with him. Tarisai is one of them, destined to kill the prince after learning to love him and becoming one of his council. This is the book that pulled me out of my Covid reading slump. --Angela
"I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.” And just like that I was hooked. About a darkly dangerous school for the magically gifted that wants to kill you and a girl called El who is determined to survive. It is so creative and so much fun. My favorite book of the year. --Angela
Even super heroes and super villains need clerical help. Anna is a temp data analyst working for a minor super villain until she is injured in a chance encounter with a so called “hero”. She vows revenge. This is a fun fresh look at the genre and shows data analysis skills and excel sheets can prove mightier than super powers. I loved this. --Angela
What happens when you are not allowed to be yourself? This thought provoking and beautifully written novel centers on a family suffering from the mysterious death of their child. It brought me to tears and will stay in my heart for a long time. Such a powerful read. --Angela
Gothic horror at its best. Noemi, a glamorous socialite, heads to an isolated mansion in the Mexican countryside to help her cousin after receiving an unsettling letter. Its soon obvious things are very wrong. But what can she do? Think Rebecca on steroids. Dark, deliciously creepy, utterly original, I could not put it down. --Angela
What happens to the young people identified as Chosen Ones who fought and defeated the Dark One and saved the world? The world moves on, but can they? And, ten years later, if they are asked to stand up and fight again, will they? It's a twisty tale full of adventure and magic, zombies and parallel universes, --Angela
Another winner from Emily St John Mandel - a gorgeously written tale about a drowned woman, an unraveling investment scheme and all the people it involves. About money and it's corrupting influences, what we really want from life and taking responsibility (or not) for the choices we make. I'm still thinking about it. --Angela
This book has it all - a library for unfinished books (in, but not part of, Hell), a human librarian tasked with tracking down an escaped Hero from his book, an upbeat former Muse, a duty-bound fallen angel, a polite and anxious demon, and the Devil's Bible. The plot? Find the Devil’s Bible, stop the possible war between Heaven and Hell (that will happen if they don’t find the book), and save the library. It's such a fun read! --Angela
Alex Stern wakes up to discover she is the only survivor of a multiple homicide and that she's been offered a new start – a place at Yale. Why? Because she can see ghosts. The catch? She has to help regulate Yale’s secret societies. Things start to unravel when her mentor goes missing and a young girl is found dead. Full of secrets, dark magic, and ghosts this is a twisty story of survival and what happens when power falls into the wrong hands. I could not put it down. --Angela
A disillusioned former prison guard/failed CEO and a corporate spy find their paths cross as they take jobs at The Cloud - an online big box monopoly with immense power. We also hear from Gibson Wells, The Cloud CEO who is dying and wants to give his side of the story. This very possible near-future dystopia is like a contemporary 1984 - a wake-up call to look around and see the path we are treading. --Angela
This is one of the most beautiful, creative, poetic pieces of writing I've read in a long time, where poetry solves math and letters are written in seeds and tea leaves. Red and Blue, who both present as female, are enemy agents in a time war. They are always in different places, in different timelines, and although they don't meet, they leave each other messages, getting closer and closer with each message. As soon as I turned the last page, I wanted to start rereading immediately. Really, this is one of a kind. And so romantic! --Angela
What would you do if you woke up to find you had memories of another life? And so did other people. It’s driving people to the point of madness. How do you know what really happened? It’s more than a disease. Are neuroscientist Helena Smith and NY cop Barry Sutton too late to stop this? Think Back to the Future meets Black Mirror. Every bit as mind blowing as Dark Matter. If you only read one book this summer, read this one. I lost a weekend to this book as I simply could not put it down. --Angela
Imagine an inn on the Thames near Oxford one dark evening where people have gathered to tell stories. The door opens and in staggers an injured stranger holding a child, who appears to be dead.
But half an hour later the child opens her eyes. Is this magic or a miracle? Several people claim her but she does not speak. This gorgeously told tale is part mystery, part fairy tale, part historical fantasy that I could not love more. --Angela
A heist novel set in an alternate 19th century Paris – yes please!
The Order of Babel are looking for an ancient artifact and they want Severin to find it for them. The prize? His true inheritance. Will it be worth the risk? My first read of 2019 and I absolutely loved it. --Angela
