In My Mailbox: (#27)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we spotlight the books that we've received for review, swapped, or purchased that week.

You guys might have noticed that I haven’t posted anything in about two weeks.  I have an explanation: the first week, I was away all day for five days at a soccer camp, and then, once I came home, I was really busy and couldn’t get on the computer.  So, I apologize for the lack of posts, and I hope none of you de-followed me in that space of time.  I know that I have at least one giveaway that has a winner but I haven’t gotten the prize to her, so I apologize for that and will get right on it.  Thanks for your understanding :)

It's been over a month since I've done an IMM post and let me tell you, this is going to be huge.  I hope you guys will stick around and read this post because I have a ton of awesome to show you! :)

FOR REVIEW:

Glow, by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Spark, by Amy Kathleen Ryan

(from St. Martin's Press)

Half-Blood, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deity, by Jennifer L. Armentrout

(from Spencer Hill Press)

The Blessed, by Tonya Hurley (from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Burn for Burn, by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian (from Simon & Schuster)

The Dark Light, by Sara Walsh (for blog tour.  From Simon Pulse)

Kissing Shakespeare, by Pamela Mingle (from Delacorte Press)

The Suburban Strange, by Nathan Kotecki (from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

 Finished copy of Frey

Frey, by Melissa Wright

Pieces of Eight, by Melissa Wright

(from Melissa Wright)

Darkness Falls, by Jessica Sorensen

Darkness Breaks, by Jessica Sorensen

(from CreateSpace)

Sanctum, by Sarah Fine (from Marshall Cavendish/Amazon Publishing)

Lonely Souls, by Karice Bolton (from Karice Bolton)

Coexist, by Julia Crane

Conflicted, by Julia Crane

Consumed, by Julia Crane

(from Valknut Press)

Mesmerized, by Julia Crane (from Julia Crane)

The Stone Girl, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (from Random House for blog tour)

Finished copies of Entangled (right) and Duplicity (left)



Entangled, by Nikki Jefford

Duplicity, by Nikki Jefford

(from Nikki Jefford)



GIFTED:

Through to You, by Emily Hainsworth

Over You, by Emma McLaughlin & Nicolla Kraus

Return to Me, by Justina Chen Headley

(from Montana @ The Book Belles)

WON:

Everneath, by Brodi Ashton

Arise, by Tara Hudson

Until I Die, by Amy Plum

Supernaturally, by Kiersten White

(won from Brooke @ Brooke Reports)

Monstrous Beauty, by Elizabeth Fama

(won from Sara @ Sara McClung)

What did you guys get this week?

Link me up!!

Review: Don't You Wish

Don't You Wish

by Roxanne St. Claire

Pages: 368

Format: ARC

Release Date: July 10, 2012

by Random House Children's Books

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.

<b>*A copy was provided by Random House Children's Books in exchange for an honest review*</

Coming in to this book, I was a bit nervous.  I thought it would be a typical chick-lit novel, not exciting at all.  But it wasn't.  It was actually almost the complete opposite.

This book is amazing!  I can honestly say I have never read a book like this begore.  It incorporates contemporary, romance, alternate universes, and science.  Who knew, right?!  It's just such an original idea.  The writing was amazing, the story line was amazing, and the stagin was amazing.  I loved how you get a taste of contemp and science in this book.  And really, it's a very thought-provoking book.  I'm sure that if they got the chance, everyone would love to be rich and popular and beautiful.  But St. Claire wrote it in such a way that I don't really want to be those things.  Sure, everything looks perfect and fine on the outside, but inside it's horrible.
But, one good thing about his book is that it's hysterical.   Ayla has a friend named Bliss who isn't very smart, but she tries to sound it by using big words and catch-phrases.  Here are a few of her attempts:

"My expertee knows no boundage."

~Page 69, uncorrected ARC edition

"Oh.  My.  God...you really are psychopathetic."

~Page 126, uncorrected ARC edition

I swear, I coulnd't stop laughing, especially when I read the first one.  So.  Freaking.  Funny!!

I've never written a review where there are two girls with the same soul, so I'm just going to call them Annie/Ayla.  I really liked them.  They were nice, smart, cool and always did what was right.
I also really liked the love interest, Charlie.  He was so cute and nice and sweet, ughh, I just love him.

This book has got to be the most imaginative I've read in forever, and I thouroughly enjoyed the ride.

5 pink flowers

Cover Features (#3): Killer Knifes

Cover Features is a meme hosted her at Emily's Crammed Bookshelf where we feature books that have the same theme in their covers.

Cover feature this week:

Killer knifes

Rift
by Andrea Cremer
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Philomel

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!


Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.


With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Shadows in the Silence

by Courtney Allison Moulton

Release Date: January 31, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In the final battle for Heaven and Earth, Ellie, who has the reincarnated soul of an ancient reaper-slayer, must grapple with her archangel powers to save herself and all of humanity

 

The Lightning Thief

by Rick Riordan

Release Date: April 1, 2006

Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Nobody's Princess

by Esther Friesner

Release Date: April 24, 2007

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

She is beautiful, she is a princess, and Aphrodite is her favorite goddess, but something in Helen of Sparta just itches for more out of life. Not one to count on the gods—or her looks—to take care of her, Helen sets out to get what she wants with steely determination and a sassy attitude. That same attitude makes Helen a few enemies—such as the self-proclaimed "son of Zeus" Theseus—but it also intrigues, charms, and amuses those who become her friends, from the famed huntress Atalanta to the young priestess who is the Oracle of Delphi.

In Nobody's Princess, author Esther Friesner deftly weaves together history and myth as she takes a new look at the girl who will become Helen of Troy. The resulting story offers up adventure, humor, and a fresh and engaging heroine you cannot help but root for.

More cool covers:

Angelfire | Wings of the Wicked | The Battle of the Labyrinth | Nobody's Prize

What's your cover feature this week?

What's your favorite cover?

Review: Gilt

Gilt
by Katherine Longshore
Series: Royal Circle #1
Pages: 398
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 15, 2012
by Viking Juvenile

In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free—
and love comes at the highest price of all.

When Kitty Tylney’s best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII’s heart and brings Kitty to court, she’s thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat’s shadow, Kitty’s now caught between two men—the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat’s meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.

It's really hard to write a historical fiction book and make it thrilling, interesting, and un-put-down-able, because, well, it's history.  No one wants to read about it.  But this book managed to incorporate all those things, and much more.
I've always been interested in this era, Queen Elizabeth, Bloody Mary, and King Henry VIII's many wives, and, of all his six wives, Catherine Howard is the one I knew least about.  I didn't even know this book was about Catherine Howard until I got farther in and figured it out.  I learned so much from this book that I never knew before.  It was exciting, fast-paced, and I couldn't put it down.  I also liked the point of view it was written from.  I think that if it had been written from Catherine's point of view it wouldn't have been as expressive and interesting, but by writing it from Kitty's point of view, (she's Catherine's best friend) it made it much more interesting because it focused on both Kitty and Cat.  The writing was very good, the idea was very good, and the story line was very good.  This book is historical fiction at its best.
This book has a very interesting cast, mostly because the characters featured actually lived.  I'm sure their personalities weren't the same in real life as portrayed in this book, but it still made for good entertainment.
I'll start off with the supporting cast, which, in my opinion, really helped this book to become how good it is.  There's Joan and Alice.  Each played a special part in this book that allowed Longshore to manipulate the plot and make it more exciting.  Loved them all.
And then there's Cat.  I didn't really like her.  yes, I know the personality Longshore assigned to her might not have been her personality in real life, but I'm sure the odds are pretty good it was.  She was a brat, stupid, and extremely selfish.  I felt so bad for Kitty because Cat treated her horribly and no one should do that.
On the complete other hand, I really liked Kitty.  She was strong, interesting, and a great second character.
It's been a long time since I've read a really good historical fiction book (I think the last one was The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory, and it was amazing) and I'm so glad I found this one because it was a huge breath of fresh air.

4 1/2 stars



Waiting on Wednesday (#37): New Covers Edition!

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Add on Goodreads

My review of Fever

Release Date: February 12, 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

What if you knew exactly when you would die? In the not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has turned every newborn into a ticking time bomb — males only live to age 25 and females only live to age 20.
In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by "the Gatherers" to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Rhine has only one purpose after she has been married to her new husband, Linden: to escape and find her twin brother.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant to whom she is dangerously attracted, Rhine is desperate to learn the truth and protect those closest to her. But, as her sister wife Cecily keeps insisting, her role may be much bigger than that.
In the first two books of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither and Fever, Rhine struggles to escape the mansion and then to navigate the brutal world outside. Now in Sever, the third and final book, Rhine uncovers some shattering truths about the past that her parents never had the chance to tell her and the alarming implications regarding her own genes. She may be the one who can save the human race.

_______________

Add on Goodreads

My review of Shatter Me

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

No summery avaliable

___________

Add on Goodreads

My review of Elemental

Release Date: December 10, 2013

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

No summery avaliable.

_______________

Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in the town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that a curse has been placed on his family that will cause him to go insane. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed.

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family's terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone in the town. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.

_______________

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear . . .

When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?

Wow what fantastic books!  All of these look amazing.  The books featured have all had their covers released recently so I wanted to make a post showing you all the new ones! :)

What are you waiting on?

Link me up!!!

Cover Reveals x 7

Requiem
by Lauren Oliver
#3 in Delirium
Release Date: March 5, 2013
by HarperTeen
Number of pages: TBD
Format: Hardcover

No summery avaliable

The Delirium series so far:

Boundless

by Cynthia Hand

#3 in Unearthly

Release Date: January 22, 2013

by HarperTeen

Number of pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

No summery avaliable

The Unearthly series so far:

The Indigo Spell

by Richelle Mead

#3 in Bloodlines

Release Date: February 12, 2013

by Razorbill

Number of pages: TBD

Format: Hardcover

No summery avaliable

The Bloodlines series so far:

Through the Ever Night

by Veronica Rossi

#2 in Under the Never Sky

Release Date: January 8, 2013

by HarperCollins

Number of pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

No summery avaliable

The Under the Never Sky series so far:

Deep Betrayal

by Anne Greenwood Brown

#2 in Lies Beneath

Release Date: 2013

by Random House

Number of pages: TBD

Format: TBD

It's been thirty days, two hours, and seventeen minutes since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she's counting. And when Calder does return, it's not quite the reunion Lily hoped for. Especially after she lets her father in on a huge secret: he, like Calder, is a merman. Obsessed with his new identity, Lily's dad monopolizes Calder's time as the two of them spend every day in the water, leaving Lily behind.

Then dead bodies start washing ashore. Calder blames his mermaid sisters, but Lily fears her father has embraced the merman's natural need to kill. As the body count grows, everyone is pointing fingers. Lily doesn't know what to believe—only that whoever's responsible is sure to strike again. . . .

The Lies Beneath series so far:

Rise

by Andrea Cremer

#2 in Nightshade Prequel

Release Date: January 2013

Number of pages: TBD

Format: TBD

This novel will be the sequel to Rift.

The Nighshade Prequel series so far:

Fragments

by Dan Wells

#2 in Partials

Release Date: February 26, 2013

by HarperCollins

Number of pages: TBD

Format: TBD

No summery avaliable.

The Partials series so far: