In My Mailbox: 2

 It seems that this is happening once a month. xD

The In My Mailbox meme was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and is used by many bloggers to show... well what they've been sent. ^^

All summaries are from Goodreads.

Received from publishers:

  Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry

 No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smokinghot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

I am looking  forward to reading this so much! I've heard so many great things about it. Thank you so much Mira Ink! 


Brought: 

Insignia - S. J. Kincaid

 More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom's drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone's been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he's offered the incredible--a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom's instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he'll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he'll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom's always wanted--friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters--but what will it cost him?

Stolen - Lucy Christopher

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops …but is this real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?
 

 The Swan Kingdom - Zoë Marriott


When Alexandra’s mother is slain by an unnatural beast, shadows fall on the once-lush kingdom. Too soon the widowed king is entranced by a cunning stranger — and in one chilling moment Alexandra’s beloved brothers disappear, and she is banished to a barren land. Rich in visual detail, sparked by a formidable evil, and sweetened with familial and romantic love, here is the tale of a girl who discovers powerful healing gifts — and the courage to use them to save her ailing kingdom.

Shift - Em Bailey

 She obediently takes her meds and stays under the radar at school. After “the incident,” Olive just wants to avoid any more trouble, so she knows the smartest thing is to stay clear of the new girl who is rumored to have quite the creepy past.
But there’s no avoiding Miranda Vaile. As mousy Miranda edges her way into the popular group, right up to the side of queen bee Katie – and pushes the others right out – only Olive seems to notice that something strange is going on. Something almost . . . parasitic. Either Olive is losing her grip on reality, or Miranda Vaile is stealing Katie’s life.

But who would ever believe crazy Olive, the girl who has a habit of letting her imagination run away with her? And what if Olive is the next target?

One of Our Thursdays is Missing - Jasper Fforde

It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld.

Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But a week before the peace talks, Thursday vanishes. Has she simply returned home to the RealWorld or is this something more sinister?

All is not yet lost. Living at the quiet end of speculative fiction is the written Thursday Next, eager to prove herself worthy of her illustrious namesake.

The fictional Thursday is soon hot on the trail of her factual alter-ego, and quickly stumbles upon a plot so fiendish that it threatens the very BookWorld itself.

Small, Blue Thing by S.C. Ransom

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Pages: 314
Publisher: Noisy Crow
Released: 13th of January 2011

Celebrating the end of exams with best friend Grace, 17 year-old Alex rescues a swan caught on a wire in the Thames mud and finds an extraordinary bracelet. Through its disturbing and compelling powers, she finds Callum, a soul locked in a half-life of sadness and mystery following a terrible accident, and his persuasive and sinister sister, Catherine. As Alex and Callum grow closer despite the enormous obstacles to their love, the dangers mount until Alex must risk everything to save Grace and Callum must risk everything to save Alex.

What I Have to Say

This was a really good book. It was less of a ghost story and more of a paranormal romance. The character takes her ability to see Callum in her stride and doesn't get freaked out by it. The focus is a lot more on the relationship between them rather than the creepy ghost aspect of it all. 

It was also really cool to see the depiction of such an obsessive relationship, with the main character falling so quickly for the boy and neglecting her friends. I like the fact that this wasn't played down like so many of the romance books out there. 

The author did a really good job with the secrets that Callum has, she doesn't highlight them, instead just slips them in so that it's not too obvious to the reader. 

All in all, it was a really good book. I'll be really interested to see how it develops though, as it seemed more like a stand alone novel than the first part of a series.

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 352
Publisher: Harper Teen
Released: 3rd of July 2012

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

What I Have to Say

 This book was incredible! I'd heard loads of good things about it, but that didn't prepare me for just how amazing it was! 

It was the perfect answer to Twilight and all the other vampire romances that came with it. I don't think many people have read Twilight and not wanted to shake Bella and ask her what the hell she was thinking!

Well Team Human does exactly that! The main character watches her friend falling for a vampire and wants to do whatever it takes to talk her out of it. And for anyone who's had to cope with a best friend going on and on about this guy she's completely head over heels in love with, it's very relatable. 

The other thing that I really loved about this book, was the humour. The main character's slightly mad sense of humour and the way she thinks in general really fitted for me. Plus the authors obviously had a great time writing her and had real fun doing it. 

I also really liked Kit. He was such a cute character, especially when Mel first meets him and talks about him lighting up when she laughs. This, added to how interesting his character is! I mean, a human child, raised by vampires! How cool is that! 

All vampire fans should read this book as a must. And even if you don't like vampires then you should read it. There's not much blood and gore and it really is a great book! 

I look forward to the next book!!

Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 416
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
Released: 2nd of February 2012

Something wicked this way comes...

She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

What I Have to Say

This book needs to be a series! I think it would work so well as a series! Especially because the characters are so vivid and cool. They just have such a great group dynamic. I think it would be so cool to just have them going around and solving crime together! It would be amazing. 

I also loved the main plot! It was so intriguing and tense! I really, really can't wait to see what else James Dawson writes, because he's got a really good voice.

I did feel that the  plot was a bit focused a lot on the bullying plot.  I  feel less time should have been spent on that and more time should have been spent on the rest of the book, as once it was over, it felt a bit unconnected from the rest of the book. Especially since the main plot of the book was so cool and exciting.

Still, the bullying section of the novel was very well written and really highlighted the fact that 1. Bullying is a huge problem which isn't dealt with properly, if at all, by teachers and 2. You can't get away from it where ever you go. 

This book is great for people who are being bullied as it really shows that it's not just one person, it's something that most people go through. It also gives some really useful pointers on how to deal with it, especially as the advice they give out in high school is usually poorly explained or not very well thought out.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 288
Publisher: Harper Collins
Released: 7th of June 2012

What would you give to be popular?

 Ally and Jane may not be that popular but they're good friends...that is until they each get allocated a freshman, a 'little' to show the ropes to at school. Cracks begin to show as Ally changes into a whole different person, literally overnight. She's dressed better, making new friends, and ditching Jane more and more. But Ally's transformation has its price. And it's up to Jane to save her former BF from a ponytail-wearing, cupcake-nibbling devil in disguise!

 What I Have to Say

I think the best thing about this book was how real it felt. Even though it's a book about demons, for the most of it, it's not obviously a fantasy book. I think it's very easy to relate to, especially for teenagers. It could very easily just be a story about a girl whose friend is changing and drifting away from her. 

The other thing that was really done well was the depiction of shock. The way that Johnson describes the numbness of shock is so detailed and at the same time so realistic, especially considering that the entire nature of shock is that the body shuts down to avoid processing things. Using a first person narrator to describe a detailed and accurate experience of shock  is pretty interesting. 

This book really is a great book to comfort read, but make sure you have food handy as it will make you crave cup cakes!! 

Dear Dylan... by Siobhan Curham

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 288
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Released: 2nd of April 2012

My thanks go to the author for providing me with this copy.

A first crush. An unexpected friendship. A dream come true. 

Dear Dylan! Thanks so much for your email and I'm sorry about my last one when I said I love you. I hope you don't think I'm a weirdo mentalist?!!! It's just that I was watching Oprah yesterday and she said we should all say we love each other a whole lot more. Not to everyone of course. There's no way I'd tell my scummy step-dad that I love him because that would be lying. But the thing is, sometimes when I watch you on TV, I feel as if you're talking just to me and it makes me feel less alone. I know you probably get loads and loads of fan mail but I wanted to ask you - could we be e-mates? Yours hopefully, Georgie xxx

What I Have to Say

 So good! The style was really cool, with all the emails. It felt like actually reading through a couple of people's private emails and finding out the story that way. 


The author also didn't dance around the whole strangers-on-the-Internet issue. She puts the anonymity of the Internet at the front of the story and doesn't just ignore it, which is a really good way of doing it, because it's accepting that the issue is there without making a big thing out of it. 


The characters were also really engaging and, as I said, it was told through emails, which made it feel much more real. 


Curham was also very subtle about the plot points. She sets things up slowly so that the reader can sense that something is wrong. Things like the way that Tone-deaf treats Georgie, also Angelica getting sick. 


This is an especially good book to read if you have any interest in acting, as acting is so essential to the plot and there's a lot of really good advice in there.

In My Mailbox: 1

Please give me a moment as I squee uncontrollably over my first IMM!!

I got so many books at the Foyles' Summer Scream yesterday, that I thought I'd do a post to acknowledge them all (and show off. I'll admit it :P).

The In My Mailbox meme was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and is used by many bloggers to show... well what they've been sent. ^^

All summaries are from Goodreads.

Books I won from the Summer Scream giveaway:

Witch Crag - Kate Cann

 In a tribe where basic survival is the only priority, Kita must make a choice: to accept arranged marriages and being treated with less value than sheep, or escape and journey to the place that even the strongest men fear with their lives — Witch Crag.

But a common threat is facing the witches and sheepmen alike. The tribes must somehow overcome their prejudices and join together if they are to win a war that threatens to destroy everything they hold as good.

 Breathe - Sarah Crossan


When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. 

Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. 

Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

I've actually ended up with two copies of this ^^ So I'm giving one to a friend. 

 Love, Inc. - Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout


Zahra, Kali, and Syd would never have met if their parents' marriages hadn't fallen apart. But when the three girls collide in group counseling, they discover they have something else in common: they've each been triple-timed by the same nefarious charmer, Eric, aka Rico, aka Rick. Talk about eye-opening therapy.


Cheerful, diplomatic Zahra is devastated. Rico had been her rock and sole confidant. How could she have missed the signs? Folksy, flirtatious Kali feels almost as bad. She and Rick had only been on a few dates, but they'd felt so promising. Hardened vintage-vixen Syd is beyond tears. She and Eric had real history... Or so she'd thought. Now all three girls have one mission: to show that cheater the folly of his ways.

Project Payback is such a success, the girls soon have clients lining up for their consulting services. Is your boyfriend acting shady? Dying to know if your crush is into you? Need match-making expertise? Look no further than Love, Inc.

Plus one that a wonderful and very, very kind blogger called Ewa gave me! 

Dearly Departed - Lia Habel

 A sharp, slick, blisteringly paced debut novel, with an unconventional but tender love story at its heart.

I parted the curtains. A skeletal face peered back at me, blackened eyes rolling in sockets seemingly unsupported by flesh. It smiled...

It should be game over for Nora Dearly when she is ambushed and dragged off into the night by the living dead. But this crack unit of teen zombies are the good guys, sent to protect Nora from the real monsters roaming the country and zeroing in on cities to swell their ranks.

Can Nora find a way to kill off the evil undead once and for all? Can she trust her protectors to resist their hunger for human flesh? And can she stop herself falling for the noble, sweet, surprisingly attractive, definitely-no-longer-breathing Bram...?


This looks so amazing! I can't wait to read it! 


Brought (and had signed ^^): 

Daughter of the Flames - Zoë Marriott


What if your deadliest enemy were the only one who could save you?

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fifteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.




I'm really, really looking forward to this! It was the one book I knew I was definitely going to buy.

A Witch in Winter - Ruth Warburton

 Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.








This series looks so cool! Just the sort of thing that I like!

Burn Mark - Laura Powell

 Glory is from a family of witches and lives beyond the law. She is desperate to develop her powers and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition—the witches’ mortal enemy—and his privileged life is very different to the forbidden world that he lives alongside.

And then on the same day, it hits them both. Glory and Lucas develop the Fae—the mark of the witch. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not . . .








Seriously, how incredible does this book look!? I want to read it now!

Angel - L.A. Weatherly

 Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible.

Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch.
But what if their potent magnetism isn't what it seems?
Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars.
Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.

Until she meets Alex…
Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her.
The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible.
In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

I've heard such good things about this series and the Author was lovely ^^

 Haunters - Thomas Taylor


Eddie, Adam and David have the same gift. Separated by generations, they are linked by their ability to time-travel. Using their dreams, they can appear like ghosts, wherever and whenever they want. The first is the genius who discovers dreamwalking. The second is a Haunter, a dream-terrorist, determined to change history foris own ends. The last is the novice dreamwalker who must battle to save his family, and himself, from oblivion.

 This looks a bit creepy for me :') Still, it looks really good.

 The Wood Queen - Karen Mahoney


"The wood monster is dead. I know this is true because I killed it. And yet my dreams are still full of fear and pain . . ."

To keep her best friend, Navin, from being killed at the hands of vicious wood elves, Donna Underwood stole the elixir of life. Now she's facing an alchemist tribunal while her mother lies dying, succumbing to the elven curse that shattered her mind. In desperation, Donna seeks an audience with Aliette, the fierce and manipulative Wood Queen, who offers a deal: if Donna can use her strange and burgeoning powers to help the wood elves, Aliette will free her mother from the curse. Along with Navin and Xan, the half-fey guy she's falling for, Donna struggles to unlock the secrets of her iron tattoos in time to save her mother's life. But some secrets are better left untold.

I really liked The Iron Witch so I've been meaning to get a hold of a copy of this. And now I have one!