In My Mailbox 68

This meme was started by the fabulous Kristi who was inspired by Alea. Check out their blogs for more information. All summaries are from the book jackets.

For review:

The Blackhope Enigma - Theresa Flavin

An old painting…
A strange labyrinth…
The sudden appearance of skeletons in a locked room…

For centuries, Blackhope Tower has been shrouded in intrigue, which seems to centre around a curious painting hanging in the Mariner’s Chamber. Its meaning has baffled historians, but when fourteen-year-old Sunni Forrest visit’s the tower, she finds herself transported to the very heart of the Blackhope Enigma, and the painting itself. Can she and her friend Blaise overcome its dangers and evade their ruthless pursuers? And will they find their way home…alive? An age-old mystery is about to unravel.

Thanks to Templar Publishing for this. It sounds great.

Seriously Sassy - Maggi Gibson

‘Right now boys are not part of my life plan. I’ve got more than enough to do as it is.’

‘Yeah, like the planet to save,’ Cordelia says dreamily.

‘And my career to get off the ground, I’ve not even got my first demo disc yet!’

Sassy Wilde’s had enough of pollution and plastic bags - she wants to make a difference. It’s time to grab her guitar and start spreading some eco love…

But first she has to get round her mum and dad - officially the most embarrassing parentals In. The. World.

And it’s not just endangered creatures keeping Sassy awake at night. Why, oh why did Magnus (the Magnificent) offer her a bite of his muffin in biology?

Seriously Sassy: Pinch Me, I’m Dreaming - Maggi Gibson

‘I sing cos I care about things. I’m not gonna change just being famous!’

Sassy Wilde has plenty to say about life, love and…lemurs. She’s a rock chick with eco attitude, but for Sassy it’s not all a bout fame.

There’s Twig, the boy who makes her feel squidgy inside. And Cordelia and Tas, her bestest mates. But as the Wiccaman Festival beckons, and Sassy’s dreams start to come true, will she have to leave them behind?

Suddenly Sassy’s in a whirl of bezzies and boys. It’s not just her guitar strings that are twanging - it’s her heart strings too…

Seriously Sassy: Crazy Days - Maggi Gibson

‘I’m gonna use my fame and money to make the world a better place…OK?’

Life is seriously good for Sassy Wilde - she’s had her first kiss, she has the two bestest bezzies ever and her rock-chick dreams are on the verge of coming true.

But just as everything’s set to take off, her new boyfriend starts acting weird - and then the record company turns Sassy’s world upside down!

Sassy feels like giving it all up - until a real disaster strikes. Now’s not the time for Sassy to pack away her guitar, cos her talents are needed more than ever…

iBoy - Kevin Brooks

Before the attack, sixteen-year-old Tom Harvey was just an ordinary boy.

But now fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain and it’s having an extraordinary effect…

Because Tom now has powers. The ability to know and see more than he could ever imagine. And with incredible power come knowledge - and a choice. Seek revenge on the violent gangs that rule his estate and assaulted his friend Lucy, or keep quiet?

Tom has control when everything else is out of control. But it’s a dangerous price to pay. And the consequences are terrifying…

Thanks to Puffin for the last four. They all look really good.

The Necromancer - Michael Scott

Sophie and Josh have returned to San Francisco. They must protect themselves from the Dark Elders, but they’ve not yet mastered the magic they’ll need to do so. Their trust in Nicholas Flamel is shaken, and their friend Scatty is missing.

Unbeknownst to the twins, John Dee has amassed an enormous army of foul creatures, with which he plans to battle Nicholas and his wife, Peronelle. In order for his plan to work, he must train a necromancer to raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead.

The twins of legend will make the perfect pupils in his diabolical scheme…

A surprise from Random House. This series looks fun!

Bought:

White Cat - Holly Black

Cassel is cursed.

Cursed by the memory of the fourteen-year-old girl he murdered. Life at school is a constant trial. Life at home even worse. No-one at home is ever going to forget that he isn’t a magic worker. And now he is being haunted by a white cat…

Cassel’s family are magic workers. Ever since magic was prohibited in 1929 magic workers have been driven underground and into crime. And while people still need their touch, their luck, their curses, their magical killings, their transformations, times have been hard. His grand-dad is a black-fingered death-dealer, his mother is in prison and his brothers detest him as the only one of their family who can’t do magic.

But there is a secret at the centre of Cassel’s family and he’s about to inherit it. It’s terrifying and that’s the truth.
White Cat is the sensational new novel of a changed world and the price we have to pay for magic from the internationally bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles.

I actually have a US ARC, but I have Holly Black’s other books in the UK editions so I needed them all to match!

Sophie