In My Mailbox 120

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 unless otherwise stated.

I got home to a mountain of packages and as usual I’ll write out the ones that I’m really looking forward to reading and just list the others.

For review:

Frostfire – Zoe Marriott

CURSED: Frost is possessed by a wolf demon that brings death everywhere she goes.

BETRAYED: On fleeing home, Frost is captured by a band of warriors sworn to protect their country from rebel fighters.

 IMPRISONED: Trapped until she can prove she is not an enemy, Frost grows close to the warriors’ charismatic leader, Luca, and his second in command, the tortured Arian. Torn between these two very different men, Frost fears she may not be able to protect either of them...from herself.

I love Zoe so I’m so glad to finally have a copy of one of her books. Thanks, Walker!

Spy for the Queen of Scots - Theresa Breslin (ARC)

Jenny, close friend and companion to Mary, Queen of Scots, has grown up at the French royal court – a place of ruthless ambition, intrigue and deceit. When Jenny overhears a whispered plot and several mysterious deaths take place, she turns spy for Mary.

Then Mary returns to Scotland to claim her throne and the girls face even greater peril. There are many who would slit Mary’s throat to steal her crown, and jenny must protect her mistress – while also fighting her feelings for charismatic nobleman Duncan Alexander.

Can mary and Jenny survive this poisonous time of dark secrets, betrayal and murder?

I’m really liking the sound of this one. Thanks, Doubleday!

Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers

Young, beautiful and deadly.

Trained as an assassin by the godof death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself underprepared – not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Ddeath’s vengeance upona target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

A dangerous romance full of intrigue, poison and ultimately finding one’s way.

I’m intrigued by this. Thanks, Andersen Press!

How to Save a Life – Sara Zarr (ARC)

Everyone knows how to live...be who they are...find their place. But I’m still waiting.

Jill’s life lost all meaning when her dad died. Friends, boyfriend, college – nothing matters any more. Then her mom drops a bombshell. She’s going to adopt a baby.

Mandy is desperate for her life to change. Seventeen, pregnant and leaving home, she is sure of only one thing – her baby must never have a life like hers, whatever it takes.

Heart-achingly beautiful, How to Save a Life is about finding love, truth and your place in the world...all where you least expect it.

I loved Story of a Girl and enjoyed Sweethearts so I’m really looking forward to this. Thanks, Usborne!

I also received:

Shattered Dreams, Ellie James

Dissing You Already, Kate Kingsley

Meta Wars, Jeff Horton

The Third Day, The Frost, John Marsden

The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind, Meg Medina

The Pirates, Gideon Defoe

My Family and Other Freaks, Carol Midgley

Between the Lines, Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer

Wintercraft, Jenna Burtenshaw

Blackwatch, Jenna Burtenshaw

Fire City, Bali Rai

Blackwood, Gwenda Bond

Shift, Kim Curran

Bought:

Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta

‘What do you want from me?’ he asks. What I want from every person in my life. I want to tell him. More.

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn’t a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

In this absorbing tale by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

I have heard so many amazing things about this that I finally bought myself a copy as a reward for finishing second year.

Second Chance Summer – Morgan Matson

Sandwhiched between two exceptional siblings, Taylor Edwards never felt like she stood out – except for her history of running away when things get too complicated. Then her dad receives unexpected, terrible news, and the family makes the last-minute decision to spend the summer together in the cramped quarters at their old lake house.

Taylor hasn’t been to the summerhouse since she was twelve, and she definitely never planned on going back. Up at the lake she is confronted with people she thought she left behind, like her former best friend Lucy, and Henry Crosby, her first crush, who’s all grown up...and a lot cuter. Suddenly Taylor is surrounded by memories she’d rather leave in the past – but she can’t run away this time.

As the days lying on the beach pass into nights gazing at the stars, Taylor realizes she has a second chance – with friends, with family, maybe even with love. But she knows that once the summer ends, there is no way to recapture what she stands to lose. From Morgan Matson, the PW Flying Start author of Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, this is a remarkable new novel about hope in the face of heartbreaking grief.

I just finished this and absolutely loved it. Review to come next week!

I also bought:

Emma Hearts LA, Keris Stainton (finished copy, review)

The Golden Lily, Richelle Mead (US hardback, review)

Sophie