In My Mailbox 31st July 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where book bloggers can talk about the books they've gotten the past week- whether bought, borrowed, swapped or given for review. This feature was started to increase interaction between bloggers and improve our awareness of all the new books coming out.

I got some great books this week- and I'm really looking forward to reading them (if I find time!)

Bought:

• Hollowland by Amanda Hocking. (kindle edition). Ok, I've bought another one of Amanda Hocking's books, and I still haven't read ANY of them yet, but I read some really positive reviews of this book this week, and her books are so cheap at the moment. This author is self-published but I heard a rumour that a publisher is now buying her books, so I thought I'd buy her books now before the price goes up. This sounds really good though, about zombies (I think!)

From the Library:

All my reservations seem to have come in all at once! This week I picked up

                



• Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton. I've seen this about on the blogs- about witches.
• The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan. This is Book 3 in the Demon's Lexicon trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in this series, love these characters! There are demons and battles between good and evil magicians. 
• Forgotten by Cat Patrick. This sounds weird but interesting, and it's getting good reviews. It sounds a little like the film 50 First Dates (Drew Barrymore), about a girl who cannot remember her past. I want to read this to see how that will work!
• Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. I love the look of this book too, it's YA and full of Greek mythology and a forbidden romance. I didn't realise before I got it though how big it is- it's 500 odd pages! Can't wait to read it though.
• Graveminder by Melissa Marr. I got this mainly because it's by Melissa Marr and it's not about faeries! Sounds spooky and cool.

Audiobook:



• Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn. Sequel to Siren. Awww- I love nerdy romantic hero Simon, so I want to read about this cute couple again!
• Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck. I've heard some mixed things about these books, but I think it sounds a bit different, and I want to make up my own mind about it.

Some really fantastic books this week, lots of reading to get stuck into. Love all my books!

What did you get this week?

Happy reading!

The "It's True Love" couple contest (just for fun!)

Are you a fan of YA paranormal romance? Then this might be the brain quiz for you!
Is it love at first sight? Soulmates forever? Are they madly in love? Want to play a game?

I'm going to post the names of some fictional couples, and you have to see how many of these characters you recognise just from their names, either from having read the book yourself or reading a review of the books. How many book titles can you name from this list of just the main characters?

I'll give you a clue- all these books are YA, and they all feature something supernatural (werewolves, vampires, angels, ghosts, mermaids, dragons, faeries... you get the idea...)

For a further small clue, if there is a hint of a love triangle (as there so often is in this genre) I have included the name of the other guy in brackets after the two mains names.

Have a go first, then, if you feel the need to cheat (or check your answers), then highlight the list and the answers will be revealed!

I'll give you the first one-

Bella and Edward (Jacob)- Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
Rose and Dimitri (Mason/Adrian) - Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead
Grace and Sam- Wolves of Mercy Falls series, Maggie Stiefvater
Nora and Patch- Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
Bianca and Lucas (Balthazar)- Evernight series, Claudia Gray
Dee and Luke (James)- Lament, Maggie Stiefvater
Gemma and Kartik (Simon)- A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray
Ever and Damen- Evermore, Alyson Noel
Zoey and Erik/ Heath/ Stark... - House Of Night series, P.C and Kristin Cast
Laurel and David /Tamani- Wings series, Aprilynne Pike
Darina and Phoenix (Logan)- Beautiful Dead series, Eden Maguire
Lucinda and Daniel- Fallen series, Lauren Kate
Dru and Graves (Christophe)- Strange Angels series, Lili St.Crow
Todd and Viola- Chaos Walking trilogy, Patrick Ness
Chloe and Derek (Simon)- Darkest Powers series, Kelley Armstrong
Clary and Jace (Simon)- Mortal Instruments series, Cassandra Clare
Zara and Nick- Need series , Carrie Jones
Ethan and Lena- Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia
Jacinda and Will- Firelight, Sophie Jordan
Evie and Lend- Paranormalcy, Kiersten White
Willow and Alex- Angel, Lee Weatherly
Isobel and Varen- Nevermore, Kelly Creagh
Grace and Daniel- The Dark Divine, Bree Despain
Renee and Dante- Dead Beautiful, Yvonne Woon
Meghan and Ash (Puck)- The Iron Fey Series, Julie Kagawa
Aislinn and Seth- Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr
Bryn and Chase- Raised By Wolves, Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Calla and Shay- Nightshade, Andrea Cremer
Kelley and Sonny- Wondrous Strange, Lesley Livingstone
Clara and Tucker (Christian)- Unearthly, Cynthia Hand
Jane and Luca - Dark Heart Forever, Lee Monroe
Amelia and Joshua- Hereafter, Tara Hudson
Lenah and Justin- Infinite Days, Rebecca Maizel
April and Gabriel- By Midnight, Mia James
Avery and Ben- Low Red Moon, Ivy Devlin
Kaylee and Nash- Soul Screamers series, Rachel Vincent
Kate and Vincent- Die For Me, Amy Plum

How many did you recognise? Do I need to get a life?!!

The Time Will Come #25

The Time Will Come is a weekly meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company where we can spotlight those books that we've had sitting on our shelves for too long. Books that we really want to read and never seem to get around to.

Forsaken by Jana Oliver is another book I bought when it first came out back in January. I love the sound of this, and friends have been encouraging me read it, plus book 2 comes out soon, so it'll be harder to catch up...
I really hope that I get a chance to read this one fairly soon.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…


Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book 3 in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy


I think that these books get better throughout the series, and this is the best one yet. The writing is beautiful and almost peotic. The best thing about this book is the enduring love between Sam and Grace which is so powerful and solid, and which I struggled to get to grips with in Shiver, but that I actually understand now, looking back on the progression of their relationship. But this book is also full of heartache, suspense, and that glimmer of hope when everything is in danger of everything falling apart.


I love the way that each chapter is told from a different character's perspective. In this book the chapters are narrated by Sam, Grace, Isabel and Cole, and this means we get to see what each character is thinking and feeling, and see the same situations from different perspectives. Sam and Grace's relationship is so sweet, and they are so completely devoted to each other. Who wouldn't like Sam- quiet, thoughtful and introspective- plus he works in a bookshop! The other two main characters in this are Isabel and Cole and they are so entertaining to read about. They are either constantly bitching or else dancing on the edge of letting something happen between them. But both of them are involved in the world of the wolves, and loyal to helping Sam and Grace, and trying to find a way to help the wolves. I think Cole has such a unique voice and outlook on everything, and it is interesting how he comes through in the end with all his scientific research on the wolves. All the characters are strong in their own very different ways and add something different to the story, fighting their own inner battles as well as the danger from the woods. The four of them together have a real bond of friendship and trust like a family, even though they drive each other crazy sometimes.


Because I could connect with the characters so well, I really felt that thread of desperation the whole way through the book. There is something going on all the time, and with the wolves under threat from extermination by Tom Culpeper out for revenge for the death of his son, there is the constant sense of danger. You want to root for poor Sam and Grace all the way through, just hoping that they have the happy ending that they deserve. There are so many twists and turns and unexpected plot twists, and because tragedy has struck in the past you can never feel safe in assuming that everything will work out well in the end. It took me so long to finish this book just because I didn't want this series to end!





Favourite Quote
(Sam)

But now what I longed for wasn't an imagined future. It was a concrete memory of me slouched in the leather chair in the Brisbane's study, a novel in my hand while Grace sat at the desk, biting the end of a pencil while doing homework. Saying nothing because we didn't have to, just pleasantly intoxicated with the leather-scent of the chair around me and the vague smell of a roasted chicken hanging in the air and the sound of Grace sighing and turning her chair back and forth...
After a while she lost interest in her homework and crawled into the chair with me... One of her hands tunneled between the chair and my back to touch my shoulder blades. I pretended to read on and she pretended to rest against me, but she kept pinching my shoulder blade and I kept tickling her with my free hand, until she was laughing even as we kissed and kissed again. After a while, Grace fell asleep for real on my chest, and I tried, unsuccessfully, to follow her. Then I picked my book back up again and stroked her hair and read to the soundtrack of her breaths. The weight of her pinned my fleeting thoughts to the ground, and in that moment, I was more in the world than I'd ever been.

So now, I knew exactly what I wanted, because I'd had it.

p98-99

Review: Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Mercy by Rebecca Lim


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.5/5 stars I did really like this


Mercy is a being who is forced to borrow the lives of people whose bodies she briefly inhabits. Having just sorted out the life of a young woman in an abusive relationship, Mercy is next suddenly dropped into the body of Carmen, a 16-year old choir girl headed to rehearsals for a major concert. Mercy quickly adapts to her new surroundings and works out who is a friend to her, and what everybody's name is. Mercy is used to being the strong character giving her host body the reason to stand up for herself or to escape a bad situation- however Mercy cannot find any obvious fault in Carmen's life besides bad skin and a bit of taunting from her schoolmates. It is when she is placed with her host family, a family in the midst of grief for their daughter- a choir girl who was kidnapped 2 years ago- that Mercy realises that it might not be Carmen who is in need of help, but the Daley family, and that what is needed is someone with an instinctive intuition about people to help solve the mystery of Lauren's disappearance. Mercy/Carmen meets Lauren's angry brother Ryan who has never given up hope of finding his sister, and is now the only one left who believes that she might still be alive.


Mercy is a good story, a very fresh new take on angels, and an engrossing mystery story, dealing with high school bitchiness and competition, and also the danger of obsession. I really enjoyed this book but I wish that there had been more of a romance between Mercy/Carmen and Ryan, as it never really got started. They were good together once they had started to trust each other, but there was never anything between them until the end. There is also a mention of this angelic force of brothers who might be a danger to Mercy, but they are just a lingering possible threat in the background and never really elaborated on. Those are my only complaints really though, I did enjoy this book, and am going to read the sequel Exile as soon as I get a chance!




View all my reviews