You Had Me at Halo

So, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of winning my very first ARC. I didn't get a chance to read it until after I'd graduated and gotten moved and all of that jazz, though, so here I am to report.

The book is called You Had Me at Halo, by Amanda Ashby. I won the ARC off of a competition at Amanda's Myspace page, which was very simple and fun--recommend a song for her to play on her page, and the best one wins! I pulled out the big guns for this one, recommending the amazing song "Hey Lady" by a band called Thriving Ivory, who originated in Santa Barbara, where I went to school. I've seen these guys live twice, own both their self-produced CD's and their self-titled CD, along with any other tracks available that are out there, and they are one of the true music loves of my life. With lyrics like "She screams for more/More than just some blue-eyed metaphor," and a voice sort of Gavin-Degraw-ish, only more real? How could I not love?

And luckily, Amanda loved it, too! She sent me the ARC... all the way from New Zealand! Which as you can imagine, was exciting enough in itself. :)

The book was adorable. Fun in a totally unexpected way, and constantly making turns that I didn't expect. The tagline is: "She's halfway to heaven... and she's just been pulled over." Basically it's about about a girl who dies mysteriously, then gets kicked out of heaven to deal with her issues on earth, and... to do it, she has to share a body with a computer geek for a couple days. It's a lovely and bizarre story that ends up being sweet and funny and incredibly heartfelt.

Look for this one when it comes to the states, ladies!