In My Mailbox 63

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:

Dido - Adele Geras

Aneas leaned forward a little and kissed her on the mouth. Just one swift, soft touch of his lips on hers and then he turned and walked a way.

Love can be deadly. Especially when two young women fall for the same man - one a queen, one her serving maid.

Elissa knows she is playing with fire, but she can’t resist. Queen Dido suspects nothing until one fateful night…Secrets are revealed, hearts are broken and as dawn breaks, a terrible tragedy unfolds.

A passionate tale of love, betrayal and revenge.

I’m really looking forward to this. Thanks to Random House.

Spirit Bound: A Vampire Academy Novel - Richelle Mead

Rose’s life will never be her own.

Rose Hathaway has been outrunning death ever since she swore to be the protector of her best friend, Lissa, no matter what.

She’s finally made it back to the haven of St Vladimir’s but with Dimitri, the boy she once loved, stalking her, Rose can only run so far.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won’t join him, he won’t rest until he has silenced her…forever.

!!!! I loved it to death. A million, trillion thanks to Puffin.

Dear Dylan - Siobhan Curham (signed)

Fourteen year old Georgie Harris feels as if the summer holidays are over before they have even begun. Banned from going to the local drama workshop by her bully of a step-dad and her increasingly fragile mum she is consigned to six long weeks of babysitting her kid sister. Sick of feeling like the outsider at home and at school, she starts emailing the one person she thinks might understand; Dylan Curtland, star of the popular soap opera Jessop Close. And when Dylan starts emailing her back Georgie finally feelsa spark of hope. At last she has someone who really gets her, someone who really wants to help. But in the faceless world of email all is not as it seems…

I read something like this, Amy by Mary Hooper, I think, and I really enjoyed it, so hopefully I’ll enjoy this too. Thanks, Siobhan!

The Moonstone Legacy - Diana de Gunzburg and Tony Wild

In a sacred cave high in the mountains of northern India, a white-haired hermit sits cross-legged, and signs his final testament: “George Abercrombie, 1874...”

In present-day England, the mother of fourteen-year-old Lizzy Abercrombie dies in a tragic accident under the full moon. But was it really an accident? Lizzy discovers that her death may be linked to a mysterious family curse.

Determined to solve the mystery, her quest takes her from an Anglo-Indian mansion on the Yorkshire moors to India, where she uncovers the terrible truth about her ancestor and a stolen inheritance. But her discoveries put her in mortal danger from a ruthless enemy…

From Pushkin Press for a blog tour next month.

Torment - Lauren Kate (ARC)

From Goodreads: How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? In the aftermath of what happened at Sword & Cross, Luce has been hidden away by her cursed angelic boyfriend, Daniel, in a new school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Daniel promises she will be safe here, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean - and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future...and that Daniel hasn't told her everything. What if his version of the past isn't actually the way things happened...what if Luce was really meant to be with someone else?

The hugest thank you to the lovely ladies at Random House for coming out to the Book Blogger Meet-Up and giving us these.

4.3.2.1. - Noel Clarke

4.3.2.1.

4 girls.
3 days.
2 cities.
1 chance.

Take four best friends. Give them three days in two cities and totally mess with their lives . Add to the mix a diamond heist, a transatlantic booty call, one seriously professional panic room and a lot of partying. The result is BAFTA award-winner Noel Clarke’s new film, 4.3.2.1.

Thanks to Bloomsbury.

Bought:

Going Too Far - Jennifer Echols

How far would you go?

All Meg has ever wanted to do is get away. Away from her high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far…and almost doesn’t make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge - and over…

I thought it was about time I joined the Jennifer Echols fan club!

Jekel Loves Hyde - Beth Fantaskey

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents’ rules - especially the one about never opening the mysterious old box in her father’s office. But when her dad is murdered and her college savings disappear, this good girl is tempted to peek inside, because the contents just might be key to winning a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To better her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristan Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize but to save Tristan’s sanity. Maybe his life. As things heat up in the lab, though, Jill’s accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and will compel her to risk everything - even Tristan’s love - just for the thrill of being…bad.

The next three books are the products of the book-shopping spree us bloggers went on yesterday. I showed some serious restraint!

Beastly - Alex Flinn

I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature with fangs, claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a walking monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? Now way. The place is New York City. The time is now. And I’ll stay this way forever - unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kinsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, the perfect girl, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly …beastly.

Ondine - Ebony McKenna (signed)

‘Ondine had the strangest sensation of having a particularly awful dream. Shambles had become a real man, and a stunningly handsome one at that, but then some force took it all away and he was back to being…a ferret.’

But what if Ondine’s dream came true? What if Shambles really is the man of her dreams, trapped by a witch’s spell?

Ondine can’t get the idea out of her head, or her heart. After all, love is blind, and sometimes it’s hiding in the most unexpected places…

How to Ditch Your Fairy - Justine Larbalestier

If you lived in a world where everyone had a personal fairy, what kind would you want?

- A clothes-shopping fairy (The perfect outfit will always be on sale!)
- A loose-change fairy (Pretty self-explanatory)
- A never-getting-caught fairy (You can get away with anything…)

Unfortunately for Charlie, she’s stuck with a parking fairy - if she’s in the car, the driver will find the perfect parking spot. Tired of being treated like a personal parking pass, Charlie devises a plan to ditch her fairy for a more useful model. At first, teaming up with her archenemy (who has an all-the-boys-like-you fairy) seems like a good idea. But Charlie soon learns there are consequences for messing with fairies - and she will have to resort to extraordinary measures to set things right again.

Sophie