Letterbox Love #9

Letterbox Love came about after some drama with the American book haul memes, so the UKYA bloggers came together on Twitter to organise one of our own. Summaries are taken from the cover, or Amazon/NetGalley/Goodreads in the case of e-books, unless otherwise stated. Hosted by Narratively Speaking.

As I had a blog tour last Sunday, this epic haul is form the last two weeks.I'd also like to apologise in advance for the likely lack of review posts that will be up o the blog this week. I just started a new job (which I violently hate) that has me working nine hours a day for nine days in a row and I barely have the energy to breathe, let alone read.

For Review:

My Friend the Enemy – Dan Smith

1941. It’s wartime and when a German plane crashes in flames near Peter’s home, he rushes over hoping to find something exciting to keep.

But what he finds instead is an injured young airman. He needs help, but can either of them trust the enemy?

Thanks Chicken House! It’s pretty unlikely I’ll read this one so if you want it, shout!

Dirty Little Secret – Jennifer Echols (e-book)

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That stopped when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Bailey and Julie were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts only wanted Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfil her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.

Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is about to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to her granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed up tribute groups in the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again...

YES! Thank you NetGalley and MTV Books! So beyond excited for this.

Far Far Away – Tom McNeal (hardback)

Once upon a time in a small town there were strange whisperings.

Jeremy Johnson Johnson’s life has begin to feel like a cruel fairy tale. He hears voices – “strange whisperings” – and so the citizens of the small town of Never Better treat him like an oddity and an outcast. Meanwhile, his mother takes a bite of a cake so delicious it’s rumoured to be bewitched and runs away with another man. Jeremy’s heartsick father goes into his room and stays there unhappily ever after. Then the town’s coltish, copper-haired adventuress takes a bit of the enchanted cake herself and falls in love with the first person she sees: Jeremy. In any other place, this would be a turn for the better for Jeremy, but not in Never Better, where the Finder of Occasions – whose identity and evil intentions nobody knows – is watching and waiting, waiting and watching...

This sounds absolutely fantastic. Thanks Jonathan Cape!

Fortunately, the Milk... – Neil Gaiman

You know what it’s like when mum leaves on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is DON’T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is thr story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back.

Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk.

Thanks Bloomsbury and NetGalley! I’ve never read one of Gaiman’s children’s books and this sounds like a brilliant place to start.

Have a Little Faith – Candy Harper

Year Ten has just begun and I’m already in trouble.

The way Miss Ramsbottom acts you’d think I’m always causing explosions or giving teachers radical haircuts (whereas it was just that one time). and now she’s separated me from my best friend, Megs, which means I have no one to give me a piggy back or check for dangly bogies.

At least the school it trying to make amends by bussing in boys for our choir. So I can stare at Dreamy Finn until he realises I’m the girl for him...except he’s singing a duet with my sworn enemy and her big head keeps blocking my view.

Fortunately, I’ve got a plan to solve both problems; as long as I’m careful with the squeezy cheese and the underage driving everything should be just fine...

I’m so intrigued to read this as it’s totally different to The Disappeared. Thanks S&S!

The Killing Woods – Lucy Christoper (proof)

Emily’s dad is accused of killing a teenage girl in the woods behind her house. She’s sure he’s innocent, but what happened? Determined to find out, Emily seeks out the boyfriend of the murdered grl. Maybe they could help each other.

But Damon has his own secrets about the dangerous games that are being played in the dark...

Gah! So freaking excited for this! Thanks Chicken House!

New England Rocks – Christina Courtenay (paperback)

First impressions, how wrong can you get?

When Rain Mackenzie is expelled from her British boarding school, she can’t believe her bad luck. Not only is she forced to move to New England, USA, she’s also sent to the local high school, as a punishment.

Rain makes it her mission to dislike everything about Northbrooke High, but what she doesn’t bank on is meeting Jesse Devlin...

Jesse is the hottest guy Rain’s ever seen and he plays guitar in an awesome rock band!

There’s just one small problem...Jesse already has a girlfriend, little miss perfect Amber Lawrence, who looks set to cause trouble as Rain and Jesse grow closer.

But, what does it matter? New England sucks anyway, and Rain desn’t plan on sticking around...

Does she?

Hmm, undecided about this one. The email pitch sounded so much better than the synopsis does... Thanks ChocLit!

Listening for Lucca – Suzanne LaFleur

‘We’re moving to your house – the one from your dream.’

Siena sees what isn’t there, collects what’s left behind.

‘Lucca led me to his room, and then just stood in the middle, waiting for me to notice something.’

Her brother Lucca hasn’t spoken for over a year.

The doctors think he needs a fresh start – that’s why her family left Brooklyn. But their new home feels hauntingly familiar – and when Siena finds an old pen the story she writes is not her own...

Can the secrets of the past help Siena break her brother’s silence?

Yay! Thanks Puffin!

Tiger Lily – Jodi Lynn Anderson

This is a love story unlike any you’ve ever heard...

Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings...until she meets Peter Pan in the forbidding woods of Neverland. Immediately, she falls under his spell – holding him like a secret in her heart.

Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Reckless and brave, he both scares and enthrals her. She will risk everything – her family, her future – to be with him.

But Tiger Lily soon discovers that the most dangerous enemy can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

I am ridiculously excited for this. Thanks Orchard!

Antigoddess – Kendare Blake

He was Apollo, the sun, and he’d burn down anything that tried to hurt her...

Cassandra and Aidan are just your average high-school couple. Blissfully unaware of her own power, Cassandra doesn’t even knw that gods exist.

Until now.

Because the gods are dying – and Cassandra could hold the answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret, and he will do anything to protect the girl he loves from the danger that’s coming to her. Even if it means war against his immortal family...

I love tangling with the Greek gods so I love the sound of this. Thanks again Orchard!

I also received a gorgeous finished copy of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas.

Bought: 

The Girl in the Mask – Marie Louise Jensen (e-book)

Set in Georgian England, fifteen-year-old Sophia is trapped by the limitations of living in a man’s world. Forced by her father to give up everything she loves, Sophia is ordered to make a new life in Bath. By day, she is trapped in the social whirl of balls and masquerades. By night, she secretly swaps her ball gowns for breeches, and turns to highway robbery to get her revenge... When one man begins to take a keen interest in her, Sophia must keep her distance, or risk unmasking her secret life.

I’ve been meaning to read one of her books for years so when three of them popped up on Amazon for £1.49 I couldn’t resist! This one sounds right up my street: Bath, hidden identities and Georgian England!

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord – Sarah J Maas (e-novella)

On a remote island in a tropical seas, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes – and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.

I love this series so it’s about time I read the novellas!

Last Thursday, I went to see Rock of Ages in the West End (so.freaking.good.) and I dragged my mum, sister and auntie to Foyles. I was very restrained and only got two books:

Everybody Sees the Ants – AS King

Lucky Linderman doesn’t want to wake up...

Lucky Lidnerman has been the target of Nader McMillan’s relentless bullying for as long as he can remember. But he has a secret – one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of laos, where his grandfather, who never came home from the Vietnam war, is still trapped. There, Lucky can be a real man and maybe even a hero. But how long can he keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside? Printz Honor recipient AS King’s boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you – and taking a stand against it.

I read King’s debut when it first came out and loved it but I seem to have fallen really behind so when I saw this I snapped it right up!

Fixing Delilah – Sarah Ockler

Things in Delilah Hannaford’s life have a tendency to fall apart. She used to be a good student, but she can’t seem to keep it together anymore. Her “boyfriend” isn’t much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition.

Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romances, and moment that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family’s painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced back together again?

Sarah Ockler delivers a powerful story, rich with emotion and filled with family, love, and self-discovery.

Sarah Ockler is another author whose debut I fell in love with and then lost track of due to faff and cost of importing from the US, but I can’t wait to read this.

Tormenting Lila – Sarah Alderson (e-book)

When Lila and Alex sneak off for a romantic weekend away, Lila’s hoping she’ll finally have a chance to work on Alex’s resolve.

But just as things start heating up news reaches them of a serial killer on the loose on the island and it isn’t long before their intimate weekend away is interrupted.

A mind reader, a projector, a protective older brother and a serial killer. One of them is going to find Lila first. She hopes it’s the serial killer.

Yay, more Lila and Alex!

Unravel Me – Tahereh Mafi (paperback)

Our lips touvh and I know I’m going to split at the seams. He kisses me softly then strongly like he’s lost me and he’s found me and I’m slipping away and he’s never going to let me go.

Juliette has escaped from The Reestablishment. Now she’s free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal ouch. Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible. Haunted by her past and terrified of her future, Juliette knows that she will have to make some life-changing choices. Choices that may involve choosing between her heart – and Adam’s life.

I LOVED Shatter Me so I grabbed a copy of this as soon as I saw it was available on Amazon again.

I also got a lovely finished copy of The Taming of the Tights by Louise Rennison and Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas to add to my collection!

Sophie