Letterbox Love #88

Letterbox Love is a way to show you all of the lovely, lovely books I’ve gotten in the post, bought and everything else over the last week. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

For review:

Under the Lights, Dahlia Adler (e-proof)

Josh Chester loves being the Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modelling gig. But his laidback lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls…opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course.)

Meanwhile, his drama queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight – on everyone’s terms but his own – Josh has to decide that life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to find someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the one thing she’s always loved, and the person she never imagined she could.

Really looking forward to this! Thanks Spencer Hill Contemporary and NetGalley!

Silver in the Blood, Jessica Day George (e-proof)

as spoiled society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou are never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about their mysterious Romanian relatives, the Florescus. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their family, find proper husbands and – most terrifyingly – learn the secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke.

The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, bound by a centuries-old tradition to do the bidding of the royal Dracula family and it is time for Dacia and Lou to take their place among the ranks. But when the devilish heir, Mihai Dracula sets his sights on Dacia as part of his plan to secure power over all of Europe, the girls choose to fight against their true inheritance with all their might. Only the dashing Lord Johnny Hardcastle and the mysterious Theophilus Arkady – members of a secret society charged with ridding the world of monsters – can help Dacia and Lou, but breaking the shackles of their upbringing will require more courage than the girls ever imagined.

The thrilling start to a richly drawn, romance-filled series, this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives will have readers coming back for more.

This sounds like so much fun! Thanks NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA!

Night Owls, Jenn Bennett (proof)

A love sprayed in gold…

Meeting Jack on the Owl – San Francisco’s night bus – turns Beatrix’s world upside down. Jack is charming, wildly attractive…and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists.

On midnight rides and city roof tops, Beatrix begins to see who this enigmatic boy really is. But Jack is hiding much more – can she uncover the truth that leaves him so wounded?

A unique and profoundly moving novel, Night Owls will linger in your memory long after the final page.

I am SO looking forward to this! And it really reminds me of Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley… Thanks S&S!

Did I Mention I Love You?, Estelle Maskkame (proof)

When sixteen-year-old Eden Munro agrees to spend the summer with her estranged father in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. Eden’s parents are divorced and now her father has a brand-new family. For Eden, this means she’s about to meet three new stepbrothers.

The eldest is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego: Eden’s complete polar opposite. Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler’s group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she can’t understand is Tyler, and the more she tries to figure him out, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn’t – her stepbrother.

Throw in Tyler’s clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there are secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler?

This sounds like the perfect fun, summery read. Thanks Black and White Publishing!

Gifted:

The Queen of Everything, Deb Caletti (paperback)

High school junior Jordan McKenzie’s life was pretty typical: fractured family, new boyfriend, dead-end job. She’d been living with her father (the predictable optometrist) since her mother (the hippie holdover) had been too embarrassing to be around. Jordan felt she had as normal a life as she could. Then came Gayle D’Angelo.

Jordan knew her father was dating Gayle and that Gayle was married. Jordan knew it was wrong and that her father was becoming someone she didn’t recognise anymore, but what could she do about it? And how could she – how could anyone – have possibly guessed that this illicit love affair would implode in such a violent and disturbing way?

I really enjoy Deb Caletti’s novels so thanks for this, Jim!

Bought:

I accidentally bought loads of books this week… It’s not my fault; loads of pre-orders came in!

99 Days, Katie Cotugno (paperback)

Last year, Molly Barlow did something terrible. Then, her mother wrote a bestselling book about it. And so, everyone in their hometown found out that Molly cheated on her childhood sweetheart, the love of her life, her best friend, with his brother.

And now, Molly has ninety-nine days to endure before she can escape to college.

99 days of being the most hated person in town.

99 days to heal the hurt she’s caused.

99 days to figure out what she wants and who she loves.

Already read this and I seriously loved it. 

Read Me Like a Book, Liz Kessler (paperback)

Ashleigh Walker is in love. You know the feeling – that intense, heart-racing, all-consuming emotion that can only come with first love. It’s enough to stop her worrying about bad grades at college. Enough to distract her from her parents’ marriage troubles. There’s just one thing bothering her…

Shouldn’t it be her boyfriend, Dylan, who makes her feel this way – not Miss Murray, her English teacher?

I’m so beyond excited for this!!

The Heir, Kiera Cass (paperback)

Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon – and they lived happily ever after.

Eadlyn doesn’t expect her own story to end in romance – she has no interest in repeating the fairy tale. But a princess’s life is never entirely her own – and Eadlyn cannot escape her very own Selection, and one particular entry who may just capture her heart…

This is such a guilty pleasure series, with beautiful covers!

Saint Anything, Sarah Dessen (paperback)

Sydney has always felt invisible.

Peyton, Sydney’s brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving all of the attention and, lately, concern. His reckless behaviour culminates in a shock accident and a jail sentence, which casts Sydney adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world.

Enter the warm, chaotic Chatham family who accept Sydney without question. It’s here that she meets Mac: gentle, watchful and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I've already read this and it's perfect. 

We Are All Made of Molecules, Susin Nielsen (hardback)

There are two sides to every story…

Meet Stewart. He’s geeky, gifted but socially clueless. His mom has died and he misses her every day.

Meet Ashley. She’s popular, cool but her grades stink. Her dad’s come out and moved out – but not far enough.

Their worlds are about to collide: Stewart and his dad are moving in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9% happy about it even as he struggles to fit in at his new school. But Ashley is 100% horrified and can’t get used to her completely awkward home, which is now filled with some rather questionable décor. And things are about to get a whole lot more mixed up when these two very different people attract the attention of school junk Jared…

Hysterically funny, tender and offbeat, We Are All Made of Molecules is about first impressions, false impressions and totally making the wrong impression.

I pre-ordered this purely on the praise of my friends on Twitter. I have high hopes!

Get in Trouble, Kelly Link (hardback)

Fantastic, fantastical and utterly incomparable, Kelly Link’s new collection explores everything from the essence of ghosts to the nature of love. And hurricanes, astronauts, eveil twins, bootleggers, Ouija boards, iguanas, The Wizard of Oz, superheroes, the pyramids…

With each story she weaves, Link takes readers deep into unforgettable, brilliantly constructed universes. Strange, dark and wry, Get in Trouble reveals Kelly Link at the height of her creative powers and stretches the boundaries of what fiction can do.

I don’t know what it is about this collection, but it’s been calling to me for months. So I caved.

Sophie